Marking 10 years since his installation to lead the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Archbishop Bernard Hebda reflected on his tenure with “Practicing Catholic” co-hosts Leah Heselton and Father Tom Margevicius for an episode that debuted May 15. That interview follows in a Q&A format that has been edited for clarity and length.
Heselton: Archbishop, when you arrived in 2015, you were the apostolic administrator. Did you imagine that the next decade would unfold the way it has?
Archbishop Hebda: No, never. You know, part of my job was to help the Holy Father find a good successor here in the archdiocese, and I was just coming here temporarily. And so, I would never have imagined that I would have been the one. I was slated to take over in the Archdiocese of Newark. I was the coadjutor. Which kind of means you’re on deck.
I was thinking that I would be the new archbishop in Newark in July of 2016. It was never on my radar screen that I would actually be staying. But obviously the Lord had another plan.
Heselton: Sometimes it’s easy for people to forget the primary ministries and responsibilities that you hold. Could you outline those for us?
Archbishop Hebda: The Church always speaks about the bishop as having three major functions. It’s teaching, governing and sanctifying. Now, sanctifying is probably the most fun. It’s when the bishop gets to lead the Church in in celebrating the sacraments and just making the Church grow spiritually. That’s always fun. Think about how the bishop is involved in confirmations and ordinations. These are always wonderful opportunities.
And then there’s the teaching part. We’ve had the opportunity to have some pastoral letters here. Certainly, in the preaching that a bishop does, that’s all part of that teaching office.
Then also trying to supervise the Catholic schools, for example, and religious education programs. That would all be in the teaching area. And then the governance part is the part that probably no bishop looks forward to. But we believe that Jesus was priest, prophet and king. The three areas are outlined in Jesus’s ministry as well, that the bishop has the privilege of continuing.
Heselton: Archbishop, how would you describe your leadership style?
Archbishop Hebda: Well, I’m not sure that I actually have one. We just spoke about listening. (That is) part of my understanding of what it means to be a leader in the Church today. It’s to listen, certainly to be able to identify the gifts of the lay faithful, both our priests and our laity, and then to be able to organize their use.
But it really does involve a lot of listening. And (that) has to always be done prayerfully. So, there’s that discernment part that I’ve been striving to get better at over these 10 years as well, and really trying to figure out what it is that Jesus wants for his Church in the archdiocese and try to lead in the same way that he did.
Father Margevicius: Your posture as a listener, as someone who is discerning with the other members of the community, is such an example and a little bit kind of surprising to some people. So, for example, you know, many of the Pentecost vigils that have happened in the past 10 years in this archdiocese, you have even welcomed the faithful to pray over you for a greater outpouring of the Spirit.
And some people find that a little bit odd. But providentially you were installed on the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. And she herself was full of the Holy Spirit, as she was when she conceived Jesus. Nevertheless, she is in prayer with the Apostles in the Upper Room, waiting for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. … She is always humble and receptive and ready for the Spirit to speak anew in her. And your example, you know, follows right in line with that. It’s a great encouragement.
Archbishop Hebda: Thanks, Father Tom. You know, we’re kind of at the height of confirmation season, and I know Bishop (Michael) Izen and Bishop (Kevin) Kenney and I really love celebrating the sacrament of confirmation. But every time that we do that, and you think back to that first Pentecost, you listen to the beautiful readings that we have.
This year we’re using the reading where Jesus talks about (how it is) better for him to go so that he can send the Advocate. There is that sense that this is Jesus’ Church and it’s the Holy Spirit who’s going to lead us.
I feel really blessed over the 16 or so years that I’ve been a bishop, and especially the 10 years here, in recognizing how the Holy Spirit has poured out phenomenal gifts on our priests and laypeople. And that really — for us to be the Church that Jesus desires — is going to require that we use all those gifts. And so, my job is to identify them, to encourage people to (use them for) the common use and then just to get out of the way so that the Holy Spirit can do such great things. And we’ve seen that.
Heselton: What are some of those gifts that you’re seeing in the laity here?
Archbishop Hebda: Yes, I feel really blessed, Leah, for example, to be at the Archdiocesan Catholic Center, where we have our professional staff in so many ways, people (who) are really carrying forward that work of evangelization — as you are — who are helping with the beautiful work that takes place in worship, as Father Tom is involved, and just seeing what goes on in our school’s office, but also the nuts-and-bolts things, too.
Those who are in our accounting office, right there doing the Lord’s work, and they have gifts that I don’t have. Tom Mertens, our CFO (chief financial officer), is terrific at that. In recent years, I’ve really benefited from the example and great work of Bill Lentsch, who’s our chief operating officer. … Those who are involved in Latino Ministry, I don’t have the same gift for languages that you have, Father Tom, but just being able to see the beautiful way in which our (Office of) Latino Ministry really helps me to do the work that Jesus wants me to do, and really helping that part of our Church to grow. If we didn’t have them and their gifts, we would be a much weaker Church.
I could really go through each of the offices here. And when I think about the priests and the deacons that we have in the archdiocese, I mean, they’re just doing phenomenal work. They continue to inspire me.
And I know that they’re assisted by great lay ecclesial ministers and staff as well. So, it’s only when we’re all able to use the gifts that God has given to us that we’re going to be that Church that Jesus wants.
To back up a little bit, when I arrived here, the archdiocese was in the midst of bankruptcy. We also had criminal and civil charges against the archdiocese. And it was at that point that I really realized how important it was to rely on the insights and gifts of the lay faithful. Whether we were speaking with the Ramsey County Attorney’s office or dealing with mediation or negotiations in the bankruptcy, I was really blessed to have laypeople who stepped up to help us by bringing their insights.
And it’s not just their professional insights, but also their deep faith. That’s really where I see that the Lord continues to bless us whenever we rely on those gifts. You made mention of two (Archdiocesan) Synods, Leah, and that’s another area. Father (Joseph) Bambenek was very involved from the very beginning. And Bishop (Andrew) Cozzens. But we also had wonderful lay leaders in that. Therese Coons did a fabulous job in putting together a whole team. A lot of people who were serving in our parishes and religious education and faith formation. People who were able to do all kinds of different things that helped us to listen well at the Synods, and then also to help with the production of the pastoral letters that have flowed from those Synods, too.
On my own, I would still be at square one. It’s only when we have the opportunity to have so many people working in the same area that we can really see how it is that the Lord moves things forward.
Father Margevicius: As certainly true as that is, Archbishop, I know you prefer not to be self-referential, but you would have to know your own particular gifts. How have you appreciated the gifts that the Lord has given you as being especially suited to this place at this time?
Archbishop Hebda: Yes. Thanks, Father Tom. I think one of the things that’s funny, even when you had mentioned me being here, and was I surprised or how did that work. I’m guessing one of the reasons the Holy Father had sent me here as the archbishop was because of the background that I had as a lawyer before I was ever a priest.
You know, for a long time I thought I had delayed because I had thought early on about being a priest and then ended up studying political science and going to law school. There was one point where I thought that had been a waste or a diversion on the path. And then in hindsight, now, and especially after 10 years here, I realized that was all part of God’s plan.
He needs bishops with different gifts. I don’t have the same gifts that other bishops have, but I do have that experience that helps me to be able to practically see how it is that we can move things forward. And that listening part, I think, is a good gift. I’ve been told that people appreciate that, and I can see that in myself. And having the benefit of having a great family. I know how important it is to have strong families in our archdiocese.
All those experiences, I think, created me in a way that has allowed me to lead here over these 10 years, in a way that I hope has been helpful. I know that as I look at things, you know, bishops have to submit a letter of resignation at the age of 75. I still have another nine years. I’m a little bit beyond the halfway mark here, I think. So even though we’ve together been able to accomplish a great deal in those 10 years, and to get to a much more peaceful place where we’re able to focus on what are those things that Jesus wants us to do, I’m also very aware that we still have a lot of work to do over these next nine years.
Heselton: We’ve had dozens of listening sessions here in the archdiocese and two Synods. You’ve spoken a little bit about (being a listener). What led you to decide to have these Synods and these listening sessions? And what kind of fruit have you seen from it?
Archbishop Hebda: When I was working in Rome at the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, we collaborated very closely with the other offices at the Holy See and in the Curia. It was at that time that the Congregation for Bishops put out a letter on synods, diocesan synods. We were involved in that somewhat, and it certainly was on my radar screen.
One of the beautiful things about working in Rome is that you have the opportunity to see what is being done in other parts of the world. And even though synods hadn’t been such an important part of life in the United States, the synods were significant in other areas.
In my work and at the council, I had the opportunity to see the fruit that other dioceses were experiencing from synods and similar assemblies. And so, it was something that was already in the back of my mind when I came here. And then when I was here as the administrator and had the opportunity to have those listening sessions, as we were trying to think about what would be the qualities that would be necessary for the next archbishop at that point, it really came to me strongly that we had such a talented Church here, such talented laity, committed with ideas and experiences that I knew that we needed to find some avenue for being able to really use those gifts that our laity have, and the synod is one of the ways in which the Church allows for that.
And as I mentioned, my background is in law, both in canon law and civil law. And so, to look for a structure that our Church law already envisioned, this diocesan synod seemed to me a likely place for us to start. And then as we began to talk about that here, and I was very grateful at that time for Bishop Cozzens’ great prayerful discernment of that, helping me with that as well.
And we had put together a team of people who were praying, coming together regularly to pray for what would be the next steps for the archdiocese. As we moved beyond bankruptcy and tried to do the work that the Church really commits to us, that idea of a synod kept coming up.
Father Margevicius: Everyone who listens to this program on the radio is within the archdiocese geographically. But there are people who listen online from all around the world. When you encounter people who aren’t from here and they know that you’re the bishop from here, especially like, you know, fellow bishops or other people in the Church elsewhere around the country or the world. What do they say about the Twin Cities, if they know anything about it? What is their impression?
Archbishop Hebda: Well, they all think I’m really blessed to be here, Father Tom. Because there have been some amazing things that have had their roots here in the archdiocese, (that) my brother bishops would know all over our country. When it comes to things like NET Ministries or SPO, Saint Paul’s Outreach, or when it comes to things like the Seven Sisters apostolate, that brilliant idea of having laywomen in our archdiocese pray for our priests by name, write and to make Holy Hours every day. They’re all amazing things. I think about Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas, all over the country people know the good things that are happening here through that program. And the wonderful thing is, I can’t take credit for any of those.
They were all here when I arrived. And yet there are things that people are very attentive to and recognizing that I’m blessed to be here, and people are looking to see how it is that we’re going to continue to move forward as (we draw) on these great gifts.
Heselton: In a broad sense, this is part of the renewal effort going on here in the archdiocese. When you were installed 10 years ago, you told The Catholic Spirit that one way you hoped to encourage this renewal and encourage vocations was to sustain family life. And now you’re releasing your pastoral letter to families, “Only One Thing Is Necessary,” and it centers on supporting families and the role that everyone has in this.
Can you share your thoughts on releasing this letter now as you reflect on that comment?
Archbishop Hebda: I’m so very, very grateful for the opportunity to release that pastoral letter and that there’s support within our archdiocese for moving forward with the renewal of family life. That came through very clearly in the two (Archdiocesan) Synods that we’ve conducted. It’s very much something that has flowed from that.
In our first Synod, one of the ways of implementing the Synod was to call a Blue Ribbon Commission to look at this question. I certainly have been drawing on their insights, their recommendations in doing that as well. It’s interesting you mentioned the title, “Only One Thing Is Necessary.”
Every bishop is asked to propose a motto for his episcopacy. I had chosen the phrase Only Jesus, which was from a prayer that the Mother Teresa (St. Teresa of Kolkata) sisters, the Missionaries of Charity, prayed every day. I had really come to know that in my years in Rome and celebrating Mass for the sisters.
But it was that idea of really trying to make sure that everything that I was doing and that our Church was doing was pointing to Jesus, only Jesus.
And then in this pastoral letter, with the focus on “Only One Thing Is Necessary.” It’s from Jesus’ beautiful dialogue with Martha and Mary. As Jesus tells Martha, there’s only one thing that’s necessary.
And that’s what Mary had chosen. And that’s to be with Jesus. In some ways it’s very consistent with that focus on only Jesus. But the hope is that together, we might be able to work in such a way that the Church is able to support families and really turning to Jesus and only Jesus and helping people to recognize they have to be intentional about that.
They have to be sacrificial about that as well, that it’s the most important thing that we can do. It’s always kind of funny that a bishop who has no children or grandchildren of his own is always talking about the most important thing that we can do is to pass on the faith to our children and grandchildren.
It’s important to be able to collaborate with parents and others in our Church who are able to move that forward. It does seem like this is a moment that is particularly significant for us.
Father Margevicius: Family life does seem like it needs a little bit of a shot in the arm, you know. So many people in the culture are trying to avoid having families. They think that that’s an interruption or it’s selfish or it damages the environment or something like that. For the Church and, our archdiocese in particular, to speak up forcefully is an appreciated prophetic voice, I think.
Archbishop Hebda: Thanks, Father Tom. And it is a response to what the Holy Fathers have been asking us to do. You know, Pope Francis, when he called for that Jubilee Year of Hope, spoke specifically about young people, young married couples, and being afraid to have children, that they lack the hope for that. How is it that we, as a faith community, are able to engender the hope that helps our young people, first of all, to make the commitment of marriage and then to bring new life into the world?
Heselton: Archbishop, as you look back at your 10 years, what has been the most difficult challenge?
Archbishop Hebda: I think the most difficult challenge has been restoring trust in the Church. The Church all over our country had gone through a period where it really became difficult for people to trust us because of the breach of trust at the time of the clergy sex abuse crisis. And it became very, very difficult, not just for those who were directly involved, who had been survivors of that abuse, but for the Church more broadly.
And so, especially coming here, which was one of the epicenters of the legal portion of that, was probably the most difficult time.
(But) my experience with the beautiful men and women who came forward to share their own experiences … was certainly a blessing for our local Church. It enabled the truth to come out and enabled us then to also work together to find ways of moving forward so that we knew that we were doing the best we could do to protect children, to create safe environments … in all of our parishes and schools. I think that was very significant.
When you think about those who had been involved as minors and then also their families, too, I find that to have been such a blessing in the midst of the legal difficulties that were there, to see how it is that people were willing to share their stories with me amid such pain, and also to see how it is that the Lord was working in them and calling our Church to greater accountability, but also calling our Church to be more attentive to how we could be involved in healing.
What always impressed me when I had the opportunity to speak with survivors — that was such a large part of what I was doing when I first got here — I was always amazed that their number one interest was not looking for anything for themselves, or even healing for themselves, but really asking how it is that the Church could make sure it didn’t happen to others. And then begin to talk about how the Church could bring some healing into that situation. It was people asking out of great love for others to make sure that that kind of injury didn’t take place, or that the probability that it would take place was greatly reduced.
For some of those (impacted), I don’t know that they would ever be at a place where they’re going to feel comfortable in the Church. Many of them, though, have deep, deep, deep faith and continue to inspire me by their faith and their hope.
Heselton: Over the last 10 years, we’ve also had a lot of other turbulent things going on. When you were about four years into your time here, the COVID-19 pandemic happened. What was that like for you as a bishop, kind of having to be separated from the flock?
Archbishop Hebda: On the one hand, Leah, it was absolutely horrible, right? I’ll never forget being in our large Cathedral (of St. Paul in St. Paul) with just a handful of people for the Triduum, for example. And at the Basilica (of St. Mary in Minneapolis) on Easter Sunday (2020). That was a real low point.
Where there was a high point was seeing how it is that the Holy Spirit was leading the Church to respond. Hearing about what my brother priests were doing to make sure that the sacraments were available, hearing confessions in their driveways or in an icehouse. We heard confessions on the lawn at the Cathedral.
We had this powerful moment that Easter, when we invited people to come by for a blessing. Bishop Cozzens and I were out there on Selby (Avenue near the Cathedral) as car after car after car drove by — and it was at the height of all of this, and people would roll down their windows, sometimes just a fraction of an inch, so that we could bless them and pray with them on Easter Sunday.
It was interesting because you always expect beautiful flowers on Easter, and it was one of those Easters where it snowed.
Heselton: There was a snowstorm.
Archbishop Hebda: Snowstorm, yep. You never know exactly what to expect. But just seeing the way in which people responded to that. As I said, our priests and their staffs were creative. I remember at one of our parishes doing coffee and donuts by Zoom after Mass. Listening to people speak, and they’re all in their living rooms with their kids, you know, but just an opportunity to be together. I think it was a moment when we as a Church once again were forced to recognize how important is the Eucharist, but also how important is community, that God’s created us for community, and everything that we do is touched by that need for community, and that’s all part of God’s design.
But it was beautiful to see the way in which God was leading us even through that difficult time. You know, we were blessed, we had a number of priests who stepped forward to get specialized training who were going into our nursing homes, into our hospitals to be able to administer the sacraments at a time when we didn’t really know exactly all about COVID. They were taking every possible precaution, but that was heroic in my mind.
I think it really helped us as well, when we coalesced not only here in the archdiocese, but within our state, saying that we needed to be able to move forward in bringing people back to Mass. I was grateful for the collaboration of the bishops of Minnesota as we went to the governor and said that we needed a change in what was being prescribed so that we would be able to meet those needs in a safe way. It was, I think, a moment in which our Church came together more closely.
I remember the letters that we received were heartbreaking, and I know for so many families who lost loved ones at that time, or who weren’t able to visit their loved ones in nursing homes or hospitals. That was just the bleakest of times.
And yet, in the midst of that, God was drawing us together and I think giving us new methods for even preaching the Gospel. We were really blessed that we did a little mini retreat (virtually) at the Cathedral during that time. Bishop Cozzens did a beautiful job with that as well. But it’s a way of being able to reach people who, not just because of COVID, but even people who are shut-ins or who are more remote, to be able to hear the Gospel proclaimed in that way, and we continue to benefit from that as well.
While we’ve certainly been trying to bring people back to church and to encourage people to see how important it is that we come in person, I know that many of our parishes continue to do great ministry through the virtual participation at Mass.
Father Margevicius: In this Twin Cities area, several cultural tragedies have inflicted us: the George Floyd killing (2020), (former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, shot and killed 2025) then Annunciation (Catholic Church and School fatal shooting 2025) and then (Operation Metro Surge federal immigration enforcement effort 2026). There are so many difficult things that this local area has endured over the past five, six years. The Church has had the opportunity, even the obligation, to step in and provide care and healing. How has that affected you personally in your life as a bishop?
Archbishop Hebda: Once again, Father, it’s been an opportunity for me to be inspired. I’m inspired by what I see from other people. One of the things that’s always significant is that when a bishop is named bishop, it’s not just bishop of the Catholic faithful, he’s bishop of all the people that live in that territory of the diocese or archdiocese.
And so, recognizing that no matter what goes on in the Twin Cities, whether it’s directly involved with our Catholic community or not, we have to be there and try to bring Christ into those most difficult of situations. And so in the midst of the pain that came with the incidents that you mentioned, the Church, I think, has to be there and has to also be able to bring a message of hope into that, because that’s what Jesus did.
The time Jesus chose and the place that he chose to be born and to live among us and to teach was in a very complex area, in what we now refer to as the Holy Land. It was during a very difficult political situation, and yet it was particularly in that situation that Jesus manifested who he was, his identity, and then also formed his Church.
So, it shouldn’t be surprising for us ever that we’re at the crossroads when there are difficulties. And they might feel overwhelming at times, but they’re precisely where it is that we’re supposed to be. And so, in each of those incidents that you spoke about, I know that it was important for us to try to bring Christ into those situations.
Heselton: I’m thinking about your whole 10 years, the scope of it. It would seem like it would be such a heavy and discouraging place to be as a Church, but there’s (also) so much hope and so much renewal.
Archbishop Hebda: I think they have to go together. And I think that we (must) have the confidence that comes from knowing Christ’s love for us. We’ve just been celebrating the Easter season, when we’re reminded each year about Jesus’s death and resurrection, which are beautiful signs of God’s love for us. When we know that Jesus wants to be involved in those situations, we have to be both confident and joyful. Because we recognize that we’re never alone, no matter how heavy the situation might be.
Going back to what we had spoken about earlier, you know, when I was able to see who were the people that the Lord brought into my life to help us, to help me, to help this Church through those things, it was a great source of confidence.
Somebody like Tim O’Malley, for example, who helped lead us at creating safer environments. His particular gifts were a great consolation to me because I said the Lord is trying to take care of his Church in helping us to see through those things. Or somebody like Susan Mulheron, who’s our chief canonist, right, but has a real heart for this work. Not every diocese has somebody with that gift, and yet it was so significant here, and for me was a way in which I was reminded that God has a plan for this Church. He’s bringing together these people, these priests who are really committed to being that Church that Jesus desires and for helping us to be transformed into that Church.
And so, in the midst of the heaviness there has to be that heart, that joy. I think when we have that sense of Jesus being present even in the midst of our difficulties, and we recognize that it’s Jesus who desires to bring healing, I think that we’re able to be instruments of that healing as well.
Father Margevicius: What about vocations, Archbishop?
Archbishop Hebda: Yes, Father Tom, we have been blessed with great vocations. When I think about the priests and deacons that I’ve had the opportunity to ordain, I’m just so grateful to God for that. And I know it’s in part because our people pray for vocations. That’s been a really significant part.
I’m really blessed that we have a good culture among our priests, where I find them to be very supportive of one another. Father Tom, you’re a member of the Companions of Christ. That’s been a great source of renewal of the presbyterate here in the archdiocese as well. It has attracted some of those young vocations. I think all of those things contribute together as well as having two really excellent seminaries here, too. Not too many dioceses would have two seminaries. I think when we have the opportunity to see the young men, not just from our archdiocese but from other dioceses that are going through, it gives us hope. I think it would give a young person that hope that if the Lord’s calling them to be a priest, for example, that the Lord would continue to bless them and help them to be formed in that way.
Going back a little bit to our discussion of the family, one of the things that many pundits will say is that the vocation — so-called vocations crisis — isn’t really a crisis about vocations to the priesthood, but a crisis in the vocation to the family. That the family is the cradle of vocations and where it is that we come to know Jesus well enough that we’re able to trust him when he’s asking, whether it be to get married or to be a priest or to be a sister or to be a hermit or a deacon, whatever it is that the Lord might be asking from us, that when we’ve already come to know him through our family and we’ve seen how it is that the Lord is faithful in easy times and in not so easy times, it’s then that we’re able to say yes.
Father Margevicius: Speaking more about families, what would you say to them, as they’re looking toward young couples, you know, just getting married, besides, “hey, read my newest pastoral letter.” How would you encourage them to enter into their life as a young married couple in this archdiocese at this time?
Archbishop Hebda: I think we’re really blessed with strong parishes, and it’s so often at the parish level that a young couple really can find a home. I would encourage our young couples to invest in that, you know, because you have the opportunity in the context of a community to find strength that you didn’t know that you had.
I love hearing stories about young people, both married and not yet married, who are involved in small groups, for example. We just had a beautiful event at the Cathedral for young adults. Over 200 came for that, and I asked how many are involved in small groups, and I was overwhelmed to see the number that raised their hands. But I think it’s when we realize that we’re not in this by ourselves, that indeed the Lord has a plan for us as a community, that we’re able to fulfill our own vocations. And especially for, you know, a young married couple to know other couples that might have some of the same struggles that they do, and to be able to share that in a hopeful way with them, with each other, I think is really, really helpful.
We’re blessed to have great priests, we’re blessed to have great deacons and lay ministers who work with those couples as they’re preparing for marriage, as they’re preparing for baptism, as they’re trying to figure out how it is that they can educate their children. They are helping them to see that the Church wants to be involved in their lives. We think sometimes about what the messages are that we get from society about what’s important, and we might be thinking about a bigger home or a better car or a better job or a better school. And for the Church to be able to say, no, what’s most important is that love of God and love of neighbor that’s expressed most beautifully in a family. And then being able to point to families that find great happiness in that, I think, really puts us in a position where we’re able to be of assistance to those young families.
Heselton: As we look forward to hopefully your many, many, many years here in the archdiocese, what do you envision for parishes being able to serve families going forward?
Archbishop Hebda: As part of that listening that we spoke about earlier, we are going to try to listen to our priests and our staffs to speak about what are things that they think could be helpful in that, as we give them the vision that we have in the pastoral letter for how practically that can be implemented.
We know that all our parishes are very different, so probably in every parish it is going to be a little bit distinct. At the same time, there are lessons that we’re able to learn from one another. The hope is that in every one of our parishes, we’re able to put an emphasis on family life in a way that helps the parents to be able to pass on the faith to their children, or that helps the couple that’s struggling with infertility to also find ways of life-giving ministry.
The parish is where the rubber hits the road. If we have dynamic parishes, welcoming parishes, parishes where people can find community and be known and loved by Jesus and by the Church, that’s going to be a game changer for us as we move forward.
