One Common Mission: A Story from the USA
Father Martin Vu was still in the seminary when he first picked up Divine Renovation: Bringing Your Parish from Maintenance to Mission. At the time, it stirred something in him. He didn’t just want to maintain a parish someday—he wanted to see people encounter Jesus personally and come alive in their faith.
As a parochial vicar (assistant priest), he began experimenting with renewal in small but intentional ways—forming leadership with Spanish-speaking parishioners, focusing on evangelization, and participating in group coaching. When he was appointed Administrator of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Placentia in July 2024, that vision moved from theory to reality.
When Father Martin first arrived, average Sunday Mass attendance was around 2,100. Today, it is closer to 2,500. On the surface, St. Joseph appeared stable and even strong. But the parish had just endured a season of deep disruption.
At Home, On Mission: A Letter from the USA
“There’s no weekend where someone doesn’t tell me, ‘Father, this parish is so welcoming; we felt at home here. What’s your secret?’” Father Rich says. The secret is not really a secret at all; rather, it’s the fruit of almost a decade’s worth of hard work, prayer, and – of course – dependence on the Holy Spirit.
In 2016, Christ the King Parish was ripe for renovation. It was only a few years after Sacred Heart, Saint Peter, and St. John the Evangelist parishes were combined into Christ the King Parish. Hoping to invigorate the churchgoers and to unify them into one parish, Father Rich and others on staff read “Divine Renovation: Bringing your Parish from Maintenance to Mission” by Father James Mallon.
The book, which centres on Father James’s own experience as a parish priest in Nova Scotia, Canada, details his journey into renewal, “renovating” his own parish, and discovering what “going on mission” really means.
Father Mykhailo: Parish Renewal at Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral
Father Mykhailo Ozorovych has had a fire for evangelization since childhood. An Eastern Rite priest, Father Mykhailo never thought he would end up in North America, let alone be the youngest parish priest of a cathedral. He says, “I came here to evangelize, to be a missionary.”
A New Normal: A Story from the UK
In 2015, still in seminary, Father Damian Ryan heard about a new ministry out of Canada called Divine Renovation. Later, he picked up the book “Divine Renovation: Bringing Your Parish from Maintenance to Mission.” He recalls thinking, “WOW, this priest gets it, he totally gets the reality of priesthood.” He was relieved that the book was addressing the very real problems of the modern Church while still being grounded in Catholic Theology. Father Damian says, “reading the book felt like ‘this is going to equip me.’” He started getting ideas for when he would be a priest.
In the summer of 2017 as an assistant priest, Father Damian interned with Father James at Saint Benedict Parish in Halifax. He left encouraged and focused on the future.
But then he became a parish priest.
The reality of leading a parish hit him like a ton of bricks.
In the Valley of Dry Bones: A Letter from New Zealand
When I was training for priesthood and close to ordination, I spent some time in Napier with an older priest who was preparing to leave ministry as I was preparing to enter it. Tim Hannigan, one of the last Irish priests in NZ had become a firm friend and mentor to me. Well after he had departed this life, I remember returning to his grave for a chat – to ask him what was to become of me. I was struggling and I asked for his help, his prayers. I felt lost, I was depressed, racked with anxiety, I guessed I had probably misread my priestly calling – I didn’t realize it was so crushing. There I was in a cemetery; I was in Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones. At a loss for what could be done in a parish, I figured that life in a monastery might be my best option to run to.
Parish life was doing me in.
And then, one day, I heard a message that was to change my priestly ministry and give me hope.
From Death to Life: A Letter from Australia
Not long ago, I received a letter from a parishioner that pierced me deeply. He wrote bluntly: “I don’t want to be part of a moribund parish.” I never heard of the word moribund, so I did not initially bother. Then later on, I deeply reflected on the word. Moribund basically means dying. He actually told me in that letter, he did not want to be part of St Kilian’s because it’s dying.
The word hit me hard.
Fr. Tien Cao: Answering the call of renewal in rural New Zealand
“The Lord gives me new strength, new energy and new people along the way.”
In the heart of rural New Zealand, in a parish spread out 100km, Father Tien and his team are bringing hope and renewal through a focus on mission.
Fr. Justin Huang: Going on mission with St. Anthony’s of Padua Parish – Vancouver, BC
“Evangelization is the greatest act of love for neighbour.” St.Anthony of Padua Parish in Vancouver, Canada has been on the renewal journey for over a decade. Pastored by Father Justin Huang, they have moved from a place of barrenness to vibrant life and growth through an unwavering focus on mission.
Taking the Plunge: A letter from the UK
I have been a priest for 30 years.
I arrived as Parish Priest to St John the Baptist, Uddingston, a lovely, large parish in the suburbs of Glasgow, in January of 2022. In October of 2023 our Diocese of Motherwell got together its clergy with the help of a very talented lay management specialist, Adrian, to examine where the diocese was, is and is going. It was a story of great faith and blessings but also steady measurable decline. It was pointed out that we as a diocese were not actually running out of priests or even money, but we were running out of people.
Casting Off into Renewal: A Story from Czechia
Father Petr’s priesthood has often been in isolation, as Zuzana explains: “Father Petr is used to being alone, because he was alone being ordained a deacon, alone being ordained a priest, in his year, in the seminary he was also alone” as others around him left priestly formation. So being able to be in a coaching cohort with brother priests was a welcome change.
Since Kickstart, Father Petr has jumped into parish renewal with both feet.
