CHANGING LEADERSHIP , MISSION REMAINS
If , say the philosophers , “ change is the essence of life ” and “ nothing is constant but change ,” then Sacred Heart proves these points — lately it has been quite a place of lively change , particularly regarding its leadership team .
One major leadership change came in
October , when Dr . Matthew Gerlach became the new dean of the Institute for Lay Ministry . He assumed the position after previous dean , Dr . Janet Diaz , returned to more hands-on ministry as director of evangelization at her home parish .
Dr . Gerlach came to Sacred Heart from the University of Mary in Bismarck , North Dakota , where he founded and directed the Catholic Studies Program , supervised the Rome Campus and Honors Program , and taught theology , philosophy , and Catholic studies . He leads the recently-renamed Institute for Lay Ministry ( formerly Institute for Ministry ), which facilitates admissions and provides formation for commuter students .
Another leadership transition took place on November 23 . At a surprise news conference at the archdiocesan chancery , Archbishop Allen Vigneron announced that Pope Francis had named Fr . Gerard Battersby the twenty-ninth auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit . Bishop Battersby had been serving the seminary as vice rector and dean of seminarian formation since 2011 .
Bishop Battersby ’ s happy elevation to the episcopacy , however , came with a downside . His new responsibilities made it necessary for him to relinquish the vice rector ’ s position . Sacred Heart would need a new vice rector .
That critical vacancy was filled on December 10 , when Archbishop Vigneron appointed Fr . Stephen Burr vice rector and dean of seminarian formation of the seminary . Father Burr joined Sacred Heart ’ s undergraduate formation team in 2005 , later becoming director of undergraduate seminarians as well as director of undergraduate pastoral formation , in 2008 . He began his vice rector tenure on January 1 , charged with overseeing the priests who are involved in the formation of seminarians ; and as dean of seminarian formation , directing the human , pastoral , spiritual , and intellectual formation of Sacred Heart ’ s seminarians .
However , with Father Burr ’ s promotion to second-in-command to rector Msgr . Todd Lajiness , the director of undergraduate seminarians position became open — and was quickly filled with the appointment of Fr . Clint McDonell .
As a graduate of Sacred Heart ( BPhil 2004 , MDiv 2008 ), Father McDonell is well-familiar with the seminary ’ s exemplary formation program . Since his priestly ordination in 2008 , he has gone on to earn a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from Sacred Heart and a Licentiate in Philosophy from Catholic University of America , where he is currently working on his doctorate . As director of undergraduate seminarians , Father McDonell will implement the seminary ’ s formation strategy for undergraduate and pre-theology seminarians . He currently teaches Latin and theology in the seminary ’ s College of Liberal Arts .
A final change in Sacred Heart ’ s leadership team is to come . Fr . Robert Spezia will begin new responsibilities in July as vicar for clergy and director of the Office for Clergy and Consecrated Life for the Archdiocese of Detroit . Father Spezia has served the seminary for the past fifteen years as director of undergraduate spiritual formation , moderator of liturgy , and assistant professor of theology .
Happily , faculty member and experience formation director Fr . Peter Ryan , SJ , has accepted Monsignor Lajiness ’ s invitation to assume one of Father Spezia ’ s former stations and become the new spiritual director of undergraduate seminarians . Father Ryan will assist the men in their pursuit of personal holiness and deeper relationship with God .
28 Sacred Heart Major Seminary | Mosaic | Spring 2017