Parish Leadership

This is a page of resources related to our plans for leadership. We will continue to add updates in the months to come.

Our Provincial, Fr. Tom Greene, SJ, visits for a Conversation on our Leadership Transition

Click here to read a summary of the conversation.

Conversations on Synodality

Update on the new leadership model for College Church

Summary of model: St. Francis Xavier (College) Church is moving to a model of parish leadership. We will move from a traditional priest-pastor to a Parish Life Coordinator. Fr. Dan will transition out of his role as pastor and Katie Jansen, who serves currently as our parish administrator, will be our PLC.  This change will take place in the latter half of 2022. Katie will have the responsibility of administering and overseeing the the parish, as well as participating in and giving pastoral direction to College Church. This position already exists in a number of parishes in the archdiocese.  Archbishop Rozanski supports this change. 

For those familiar with Jesuit apostolic institutions, Katie will be the director of the work. The director of a work is responsible for the general administration of the works, together with the inspiration, apostolic orientation, and implementation of the mission. She will be accountable for this mission to the Jesuit provincial Fr. Tom Greene, S.J. 

Jesuit leadership is committed to missioning a priest to work full-time at the parish. He will have a critical role in leading the parish in prayer, preaching, celebrating sacraments, and be a resource for deepening the Ignatian Spirituality of SFX. He will serve as a member of Katie’s staff. 

The transition we are making is not just a change in leadership. It is a change in the way we are community. One could say that we are formalizing a structure that reflects the culture we have all been building at College Church. We have a long history of parishioners shaping the mission and direction of our community. The role that each of us plays makes us who we are, contributes to the body of Christ. Each of us is called to a pastoral role. 

Pope Francis is talking a lot about a synodal church which is not simply about involving people in decision making but involving all the baptized in discerning God's will and listening to the Holy Spirit. The goal always is to find the best ways for every baptized person to fulfill the church's mission of proclaiming God's love and salvation in Jesus Christ to the world. Or, as the International Theological Commission writes: "A synodal church is a church of participation and co-responsibility. In exercising synodality she is called to give expression to the participation of all, according to each one's calling...Participation is based on the fact that all the faithful are qualified and called to serve each other through the gifts they have all received from the Holy Spirit."

Those are powerful words. But I’ve seen us living this call very clearly over the past year. Since we haven’t been able to all be in church together, many of you have been ministers in your own homes. You set up your liturgical space and you assembled your congregation. Some of you have become catechists as your children have participated in youth faith formation from home. Some of you even shared your preaching online when we couldn’t hold Triduum services last year. Many of us offered pastoral care to family members or others in our communities. Part of embracing synodality is simply naming the significance of the roles we are already called to. 

In the coming months we will provide opportunities to discern with one another how we as a community are called to fulfill the church’s mission. In preparation for that discernment, I invite you to reflect on this question: what pastoral role is God calling you to?  

 Virtual Parish Assembly

Our Parish Vision