After 98 years with St. Lawrence Catholic Church and Newman Center in Dinkytown, the Paulist Fathers will be gone in September. The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is replacing them with a diocesan priest.
The move has been considered for "many years," according to a joint statement issued by the archdiocese and the Paulist Fathers. But it came as a surprise to the Paulists, a religious order serving parishes throughout the country and other parts of the world.
"We were kind of caught off guard by this decision of the archbishop," said Michael McGarry, president of the Paulist Fathers, based in New York.
McGarry said Archbishop John Nienstedt gave no reason for the change other than wanting diocesan leadership in the Minneapolis church.
Not fully understanding the reason is frustrating, he said. "But at the same time … it wouldn't make me more or less sad," McGarry said. "I'm just very, very sad and disappointed in this turn of events and if I knew why, I don't think that would change much."
Part of reassignment process
Nienstedt appointed the Rev. Jon Vander Ploeg as the new pastor.
He will replace the current pastor, the Rev. Ivan Tou and the Rev. Robert O'Donnell, campus minister.
The change is part of the archdiocese's clergy reassignment process, said Jim Accurso, archdiocese spokesman. It occurs every spring and this year involved 40 clergy members and 41 parishes and pastoral assignments.