Adios, Padre Gregorio


First Fr. Johnson retired from St. Mary's by the Sea, and now Fr. Greg Staab, OMV is being transferred from St. Peter Chanel to Argentina. Yes, that Argentina. The one on a different continent umpty thousand miles away. I'm running short of good priests.

Argentina doesn't know how fortunate it is yet. Fr. Greg is an outstanding confessor and spiritual director. He is one of the best preachers you'll ever hear, both intellectual and heart-felt. The two don't always go together but they do in his case. And if you're wondering, yes, he already understands and speaks Spanish. All in all, a brilliant and holy man. He will be greatly missed, and not least by me.

(Running "short" of good priests, indeed, but not "out". St. Peter Chanel remains one of the best [if not the best; I haven't been to them all] parishes in the Archdiocese. The Oblates of the Virgin Mary don't seem to have any less-than-outstanding priests. The ones who remain at St. Peter Chanel, Fr. Larry, Fr. Ed, and Fr. John, still preach the sana doctrina with fire and conviction and man the confessional 6 to 8 hours every day. I can't imagine that newly-arrived Fr. Fernando, who takes Fr.Greg's place, will be any different.)

If you'd like to hear some of Fr. Greg's preaching, St. Joseph Radio has some of our parish's retreats on tape here. A few of Fr. Greg's talks are marked separately. He's also one of the preachers in the tape series only labelled "St. Peter Chanel". Highly recommended if you have a few extra dollars.