Diocese reassigns two popular priests

By Jessica Webster
City Editor

Chris Pickard/Chief Photographer Fr. Pat Click — touted by students as "cool" and "student oriented" — is leaving St. Thomas Aquinas after 14 years of service due to massive structural changes at the church.

Major structural changes at St. Thomas Aquinas Church are resulting in the reassignment of two popular priests.

Bishop William Higi, of the Catholic Diocese of Lafayette, sent out more than 7,500 letters to resident parishioners this week stating that the "declining pool of available Diocesan priests has led to a reduction in the ordained staff assigned to St. Tom's."

Thus, St. Tom's is bringing in the Dominican priests of the Province of St. Albert the Great in Chicago to assume pastoral leadership starting July 5. The Rev. Pat Click, who has been the pastor at St. Tom's for 14 years, and the Rev. Chris Miller, who's been with the church for two years, will be leaving. Higi outlined the structural changes as an "impossible situation" that he was anxious to avoid … but could not.

Shannon Harris, a senior in the School of Health Sciences, said she was surprised about the pastor’s departure.

"I'm pretty sad and disappointed," she said. "I think they're awesome and they've done an awesome job with the campus ministry; it's not a position that will be easily filled."

Harris' disappointment seems to be pervasive among the student population, according to Phyllis Scanlon, administrative director at St. Tom's. "We are very sorry to see Father Pat and Father Chris leave," she said. "Change is always hard but we anticipate that St. Tom's will be the same wonderful place for everyone to worship."

Scanlon said she's not certain what the future holds, but said she doesn't anticipate a lot of change. "There will be a lot of orientation because there won't be any overlap of the old priests with the new priests."

Nick Veneris, a junior in the Schools of Engineering, had nothing but praise for the priests. "I thought they were really cool," said Veneris. "They were really personable and the stuff they talked about seemed to relate more to students than the other pastors I've known."

Click, whose duties are about 80 percent student—related, said he will miss meeting new students every year most of all. "I love working with students; there's a lot of energy," said Click. "I'm disappointed that I can't stay on but the practical part is that we're short of priests. You know, I'll still be in touch with alumni and I'll be up here for football and basketball games."

Click, who will now be taking a position as an associate pastor somewhere else in the diocese, said the style of the new priests will be different, but not too different. Primarily, he said that the way they relate with people will be different.

Tom Russell, director of communication for the Diocese of Lafayette, said these changes will "enhance the ordained presence at St. Thomas Aquinas."

Russell said he hopes the arrangement will be indefinite, but there is currently a five—year agreement with the Dominican province of Chicago. He said the Dominicans are noted for scholarship and study and are a more "contemplative order."

All three priests coming to St. Tom's have experience with campus ministry and master's degrees in theology.

Kelly Ziemkiewicz, a sophomore in the School of Science, said she will miss the priests. "I'm disappointed that they're leaving because it seems like they'd do almost anything for the students at Purdue."

Diocese reassigns two popular priests

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