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Pastor leaves western Arkansas to work for his Glenmary order

After ordination in 1999, Father Pezzulo came to Arkansas to serve in Crossett and Hamburg

Published: August 13, 2011   

By Maryanne Meyerriecks
Fort Smith Correspondent

Maryanne Meyerriecks
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor and Father Neil Pezzulo, GHM, greet St. Jude parishioners who attended a Mass of thanksgiving, roast and dinner for Father Pezzulo June 30.

WALDRON -- As Father Neil Pezzulo, GHM, prepared to leave his two parishes -- St. Jude Thaddeus Church in Waldron and St. Andrew Church in Danville -- to become first vice president of the Glenmary Home Missioners Executive Council, his parishioners organized a celebratory Mass and dinner June 30.

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor told the congregation that Father Pezzulo wasn't "just any ol' priest."

"Father Neil is energetic, self-sacrificing, full of love for all and especially the poor and weak and all who have any kind of brokenness in their lives," Bishop Taylor said.

The parishioners were joined by the youth group from the Covenant Community of Jesus the Good Shepherd in Owings, Md., where Father Pezzulo had assisted prior to his ordination in 1999. The 30 young people came to sponsor two weeks of vacation Bible school for the local children, as they had done every year since Father Pezzulo's arrival in Waldron.

Glenmary Home Missioners have served people in Appalachia, the South and Southwest since 1939. They establish a Church presence in rural areas that are less than 3 percent Catholic and where the poverty level is almost twice the national average. In his 11 years in the Diocese of Little Rock, Father Pezzulo served as an associate pastor in Crossett and Hamburg from 2000 to 2003, became the first resident pastor at St. Jude Thaddeus Church and built a church at St. Andrew in Danville.

"In 2003, a small group of about 37 people met in a house in Danville for Mass. We built a place in 2005 where they could all get a seat," Father Pezzulo said. "We now have 350 people every Sunday. I believe the only friend the immigrant has in Arkansas is the Catholic Church. We make people understand that they're welcome."

As St. Andrew Church grew into a regional parish, it began to provide other services.

"We figured we should be there for material needs," Father Pezzulo said, "and help people negotiate the system, get their kids registered in school, find doctors and help with income taxes. We created an atmosphere of hospitality there."

In his new position, Father Pezzulo will help supervise the order of 55 priests and brothers and five pastoral coordinators. There are currently 14 men in formation. Last March, Father Pezzulo joined Brother David Henley, GHM, the order's vocation director, to lead a discernment retreat in Kenya. Four young men were invited to join the formation program in September while others remain in discernment.

The two Arkansas parishes will remain Glenmary missions. Father Francois Pellissier, GHM, a native of France who speaks Spanish, is the new sacramental minister at St. Jude Thaddeus Church and the sacramental minister/temporary administrator of St. Andrew Church. Kathy O'Brien, a Glenmary lay associate, will continue her current assignment at St. Jude Church and also serve as parish administrator.

"For me, life in a small town has been a good way to identify with Jesus in his small town of Nazareth, even in a different country than my native land," Father Pellissier has said.

Father Pezzulo carries many happy memories of his years in Arkansas.

"In my 11 years of serving in the Diocese of Little Rock I have always been impressed by the level of faith everyone has, particularly against insurmountable odds," he said. "I loved southwestern Arkansas. It's pretty, easy to get around in, and people are nice. There's no downside. I always had complete and total access to anything I've ever wanted or needed."

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