Last Thursday, we had our annual St. John Vianney Cookout for our priests and seminarians. As always, Father Brian Kiely and the whole community of Pope St. John XXIII were so gracious with their hospitality. We don't hold it exactly on the feast of St. John Vianney, but near the feast, and the date this year was actually the feast of St. Dominic, as someone pointed out. But it's a wonderful way for the priests to come together during the summer to see each other.

We had Vespers together and then the cookout. (Actually, this year, it was more of a "cook-in," because rain was expected during the evening.)

We had a very good attendance, and there was quite a cross-section of the priests who attended. In fact, they had to bring more chairs to accommodate the very large number of men who were able to participate.

It's always a joy to share this moment of fraternity together each year.



Annual retreat

For much of the rest of this week, I have been in Maine, participating in the annual retreat for the bishops of Region I, which encompasses New England. It's the Province of Boston, which includes the four dioceses of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, and the Province of Hartford, which includes the three dioceses of Connecticut and Rhode Island. We were, of course, joined by Archbishop-elect Henning and the former Bishop of Providence, Thomas Tobin.

Our host was the new Bishop of Portland, Bishop James Ruggieri, but the main organizer of the retreat was Archbishop Coyne of Hartford.

The retreat was held at the Franciscan Guest House in Kennebunkport, which has a lot of grounds you can walk around. On one side, you can walk to the ocean, and on the other side is the beautiful town of Kennebunkport. And fortunately, we were blessed with beautiful weather throughout the week.

And, of course, the Lithuanian Franciscan Friars and the staff who run the guest house are always very gracious to us.

Once again, this year, we had a Benedictine retreat master, though this time, we had the Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Order, Abbot Gregory Polan. (The Abbot Primate is something akin to the General Superior of other orders.) Abbot Gregory is an American who is currently stationed at Sant'Anselmo's in Rome, but he is finishing up his term as Abbot Primate and will be returning to Conception Abbey in Missouri.

Though he said this was his first time ever preaching a retreat to bishops, he was a wonderful retreat master for us. One of his main themes was the Paschal Mystery, and he employed a lot of Scriptural examples from St. Paul.

It was a wonderful week and a very nice opportunity for the bishops of the region to be together and pray together. Usually, when we are gathered, it's because of a meeting. There's always some sort of agenda, and everyone has to keep moving on to the next scheduled item. So, having the whole week together was very enriching.