Déjà vu as priest leaves St. Stanislaus

Catholic church losing its 2nd pastor in 15 months

By SUE NOWICKI
snowicki@modbee.com

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After a little more than 15 months as pastor of St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Modesto, the Rev. Lonachan Arouje has stepped down, telling parishioners Sunday he was dealing with too much stress and needed spiritual renewal. His resignation, which came as a surprise to parishioners and some staff members, was effective at noon Monday.

He is the second pastor to leave the post in the past 18 months. The Rev. Bill McDonald resigned in June 2006 after a yearlong sabbatical for renewal, study and relaxation. He remains on a leave of absence from the diocese.

Arouje, a native of India, came to the diocese in 1989 and served at St. Patrick's in Angels Camp before he became the director of All Saints Newman Center in Turlock in 1991. He was appointed to St. Stanislaus on Sept. 1, 2006.

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In a letter to Bishop Stephen Blaire dated Dec. 3, Arouje said, "I have come to the conclusion that it is the right time for someone else to accept the administrative responsibilities of St. Stanislaus."

The parish, with about 3,500 families, is building a 26,250-square-foot church on Maze Boulevard that will seat 1,300 people when it opens next summer. Meanwhile, a dozen Masses in Spanish and English are held in multiple buildings throughout the parish; the church on J Street seats only 388 people.

St. Stanislaus' size puts it in the top 25 percent of all parishes within the Diocese of Stockton. In the words of more than one parishioner, it's a difficult parish to oversee.

"It's a large community. It's multi-ethnic, multifaceted and with a parish school," said Tom Byrne, building fund chairman. "It includes a multimillion- dollar building project. It's very difficult. I think we'd be untruthful if we didn't say that. It's very challenging.

"I would echo what Father (John) Lindsay said yesterday during Mass: Father Arouje worked very hard on our behalf. He's on his way to a well- deserved rest."

Arouje said Sunday that Monsignor Robert Silva from the diocese office would become the administrator for the next 18 months, also effective Monday. Lindsay, appointed as parochial vicar to St. Stanislaus in July, will handle the day-to-day operations of the parish.

Silva's appointment is "ideal," Byrne said.

"He's an energetic man who engages people. He's just a good leader. I think he'll be an excellent person who will help us in the process, as will Father Lindsay. Lindsay has been here off and on since the 1970s. He's a great anchor for us."

Jose Reyes has been a member of the parish since 1990 and a deacon there since 2003.

"The difficulty is not neces- sarily that the parish is difficult, but it's a large parish and we have this new project, so in that sense, it would be difficult for anyone," he said. "But we have a good group of people, a good staff and a good group of priests."

He said Blaire's 18-month appointment of Silva "shows (the bishop's) commitment to St. Stanislaus and the church. We have gone through three priests (two full time and one interim) recently, and this says, 'We care about you and this is what we will do to make sure your pastoral needs are taken care of.'

"I had a very nice conversation with Father Arouje after Mass yesterday," Reyes said. "I offered him my prayers for him. He did the same for me and our community."

He said the two traits he will miss most are Arouje's persistence and "love for the Eucharist."

Arouje told his parishioners he would be on a yearlong sabbatical leave. After that, according to Arouje and a letter from Blaire, he will be reassigned to another post in the diocese.

To read the letter of resignation from Father Arouje and the responding letter from Bishop Blaire, go to modbee.com/local.

Bee staff writer Sue Nowicki can be reached atsnowicki@modbee.com or 578-2012.