Father Stash Dailey, pastor of Columbus Holy Family Church, will leave that position this summer to become vice rector of formation at the Pontifical College Josephinum. He will retain his role as diocesan vicar for religious orders of priests, sisters and brothers, a position through which he estimated he has helped members of 15 orders come to the diocese.
“I will serve mainly as a formator – a position similar to that of a counselor or adviser – rather than as a teacher at the Josephinum,” he said. “My main responsibility will be to walk with and accompany young men during their formation for the priesthood.
“This is unlike anything I’ve done before. It was a surprise to me because I always thought my primary task would be in parish life. I have always been open to anything the Church has asked me to do, and this is what God is calling me to do now.”
Father Dailey learned of the appointment in a meeting on Monday, April 25 with Father Steven Beseau, Josephinum rector/president. It was announced to the Josephinum community two days later and to Holy Family parishioners on the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, April 30 and May 1.
Father Dailey said the appointment had the approval of Columbus Bishop-elect Earl Fernandes; his predecessor, Bishop Robert Brennan; and Msgr. Stephan Moloney, who is serving as diocesan administrator until the bishop-elect’s ordination on Tuesday, May 31.
“Father Beseau said Bishop Brennan had wanted me to become involved in seminary formation at some point,” Father Dailey said.
“I am very much humbled and very much intimidated by this assignment,” he wrote to parishioners in the Holy Family bulletin for April 30 and May 1. “I have been filled with dreams about how to serve all of the people at Holy Family, and many of those dreams have come to life as a result of Divine Providence.”
He said both his work at Holy Family and his new position called to mind a quote from one of his patrons, St. Anthony of Padua: “We are called to plant the seeds of trees under whose shade we will never sit.”
“Our young men who want to be priests are in need of someone to walk with them,” he said. “I am not convinced I’m the right one to do it, but it is what the Lord has made clear I am to do. Please pray for our seminarians, the men who are our future priests, and pray for the priests who have the privilege of walking with them as they learn from the Divine Master.”
Father Dailey officially will begin his new assignment when the Josephinum’s academic year starts in August. He will leave Holy Family sometime before then. “I will remain available to the Mercedarian Friars who will assume pastoral care and responsibility of Holy Family,” he said. “The continuity of stability and support for the people (of Holy Family) is of the utmost importance.”
Two Mercedarians – Father Michael Donovan, O de M, and Father Joseph Eddy, O de M – have been stationed at Holy Family since early January. Father Dailey said more would be coming to the parish in future months. The order also will be establishing a house at Holy Family for the residency of its student brothers, who will be studying at the Josephinum for the priesthood.
The Mercedarians – the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy – were established in Barcelona, Spain, by St. Peter Nolasco in 1218. Today, there are Mercedarians in 17 nations including the United States, where they serve in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida and New York.
Father Dailey said all of the nation’s Mercedarians, numbering about 25, would be coming to Holy Family from Monday to Thursday, June 27 to 30, for their annual national conference.
Father Dailey was ordained as a priest in 2008 and has served at Holy Family for the past nine years – four as administrator and five as pastor.
Editor’s note: A list of new clergy assignments will be published in the June 19 issue of The Catholic Times. Some parishes and priests have already announced moves.
