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| July 2004 |
| Bishop names new vicar general; former vicar will work with seminarians |
Gene Young
Managing Editor |
Bishop Robert J. Carlson has named Father
Charles Cimpl the new vicar general of the Catholic Diocese
of Sioux Falls.
Father Cimpl, who was also just recently assigned as pastor
of St. Michael Parish, Sioux Falls, takes over from Msgr. Marvin
McPhee, who served as vicar general since June, 2000.
Father Cimpl will be serving the diocese in both capacities.
The vicar general serves as an advisor to the bishop, and is
member of the diocesan finance council and priest council. He
also serves as a representative in the absence of the bishop.
The bishop could have selected a priest from anywhere in the
diocese to serve as vicar general. “However, there are
a number of things that a vicar general has to do, signing various
documents and attending corporate meetings that makes it easier
if you are closer to Sioux Falls,” the bishop said.
“The vicar general can also serve as a very good conduit
for the diocese in an unofficial way,” the bishop said.
“He can bring the concerns of priests and the chancery
staff to the bishop.”
Appointing a new vicar general became necessary after the bishop’s
appointment of Msgr. McPhee as episcopal vicar for seminarian
formation at the newly established diocesan house of formation
in Denver, CO.
Msgr. McPhee is a Kimball native who served as a teacher for
some years before heading to the seminary. He was ordained in
1965, and over the years served in Groton and Andover, Gettysburg
and Lebanon, and Ipswich. He also served for a time as principal
at Roncalli High School in Aberdeen. He was named a monsignor
by Pope John Paul II in 1996.
“It will be my intention to prepare the seminarians to
be pastors,” said Msgr McPhee. “That will be the
main part of my role but I will also help them learn to bond
together in the priestly fraternity.”
In addition to the appointment of Msgr. McPhee to Denver, Father
Scott Traynor was also recently appointed to serve as the formation
director for the diocese’s seminarians there.
The bishop’s appointments of Msgr. McPhee and Father Traynor
are part of a new effort to help the growing number of diocesan
seminarians studying in Denver at St. John Vianney Theological
Seminary, Denver.
The Archdiocese of Denver has made available for our diocese
a former convent which has been renovated into seminarian housing,
25 minutes from campus. “The men will live there, study
there, take part in many of their spiritual exercises,”
the bishop said. “By bringing people together, “I’ll
have a much better sense of how people get along, how they relate
and I hope it builds an even stronger bond between our future
young priests.”
The opportunity being provided the diocese is rare, if not unique.
“For a small diocese, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity
where you can get all your seminarians together in one place,
like the big dioceses do,” said Bishop Carlson. “You
can have your priests working with them and they will be doing
their pastoral work in a parish there.”
The Sioux Falls seminarians will be doing hospital visits and
teaching religious education in the parish as part of their
pastoral training and study.
The bishop is pleased that Msgr. McPhee accepted the new assignment.
“What Msgr. McPhee brings to Denver is his many years
of priesthood,” said Bishop Carlson. “He is the
kind of person that, given his great priestly zeal that you
want young fellows to be looking at when they think about who
is it that should be a priest.”
“That’s one of the reasons I am going,” said
Msgr. McPhee. “If God gave me the health to do it, I’ll
do it. I owe it to the diocese.”
Msgr. McPhee believes he can also convey to the seminarians
many practical things they must learn about life in a rural
parish that they will not likely learn or see while at seminary
or in a bigger city parish.
“I think it is almost an experimental thing,” said
Msgr. McPhee. “We will be the only diocese in the United
States doing this.”
Msgr. McPhee also hopes to build strong bonds with the seminarians.
He wants them to see him as a friend and confidant who can help
them through problems and challenges.
Father Scott Traynor is just completing his training as a spiritual
director and is in the final stages of completing his JCL, a
canonical degree.
So, in addition to his work as formation director for our diocesan
seminarians, he will also be doing some spiritual direction
for the seminary in Denver and will serve on the diocesan Marriage
Tribunal.
Teaming Msgr. McPhee and Father Traynor to work with Sioux Falls
seminarians will provide many benefits to the diocese and Bishop
Carlson. “That allows two people to bounce things off
of and I get two different views from two different priests
about the people we have,” he said.
The new Denver experience for diocesan seminarians aims to accomplish
a lot for the men in formation and for the diocese. “I
believe it will give a better sense of fraternity,” said
the bishop. “I hope it creates a stronger bond among the
men and it will help us give a South Dakota flavor to the pastoral
formation.”
Bishop Carlson is confident the new opportunity for the diocesan
seminarians at St. John Vianney, Denver, will be good for the
men in formation and for the diocese. “Obviously, we’re
going to see how it works,” said the bishop. |
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