A New Patron Saint

Part of the Beacons of Light process is to join together as a single parish. This involves having a patron saint for the new parish. For us, this would replace the “Petersburg Parishes” name and give us a new patron saint. There may be some questions as to why we are going to change the name. I promise that there will be an opportunity in the near future for questions to be asked related to the Beacons of Light.

Over the past few months we’ve featured around 16 potential patrons. This gets everyone thinking and praying. If you have any other suggestions, please email Grace, my assistant, at pastor@petersburgparishes.org. There are some saints that we won’t be able to choose because they are already in use for parishes in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

The next step is that the pastoral council, our staff, and myself will narrow the list down to 10 or 12. This gives a manageable list for parishioners to discern. 10 or 12 seems a bit more manageable than 20 or 30.

The next stage will take place in November, which is the month dedicated to the saints. In November we will host multiple “wax museums” of the 10 or 12 potential patrons. We’ll ask parishioners to dress up as the saint and be able to give a short pitch as to why they would make a great patron saint for us. Any parishioner who attends one of the wax museums will be able to cast a vote to narrow the potential patron down to 3 possibilities.

Once we have three potential patrons, we will open the voting to all parishioners. Before this vote happens, we will catechize, teach, and preach about the three potential patrons. This will likely occur in January or February. At this time, we’ll be ready to submit our new patron saint to the Archbishop for approval.

I am really excited about the process and the possibilities. It will give all of us a chance to learn more about the saints and discern the future of our parishes. This process should build a family. We’ll have to pray together to the Holy Spirit asking for His guidance. God already knows who our new patron saint will be. May we have the ears and hearts to follow His voice.

Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Sean Wilson