03/03/2025
Dear parishioners, friends in Christ,
I have something to share with you that will require a little background information. The Roman Curia is the administrative body that the Holy Father, Pope Francis, uses to exercise his pastoral ministry and governance of the Church. The Roman Curia today consists of several different departments known as “dicasteries” that assist the Pope in different areas of the life of the Church. For example, along with the Secretariat of State for the Holy See, there is the Dicastery for Evangelization, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, the Dicastery for the Causes of the Saints, etc.
Similarly, every diocese, like our own, has its own diocesan curia, which consist of offices that assist the bishop of the diocese in his own work and administration of the local Church. Our diocese, for instance, has the Office of Sacred Worship, Evangelization and Catechesis, Marriage and Family Life, etc.
I offer this explanation because it leads to an announcement that is very difficult for me to make to you. Several months ago, Bishop Battersby received a letter from the Holy See requesting that I be released from our diocese for five years to serve in one of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia, namely, the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, as an English official. How did this happen? This is not something that I ever anticipated or sought after. Nor was it Bishop Battersby’s idea, as he is reluctant to let one of his priests go. No one ever really tells you how you get appointed to things like this, but I suspect that my name was given by any one of several priest friends or acquaintances I’ve known from my time in the seminary that currently work in Rome.
I expressed to Bishop Battersby my great concern over leaving my parishes, especially at a time when there are so many things happening. But because it was the Holy See that was asking, and the honor of being asked, I expressed an openness to doing whatever the Lord willed. My anticipated departure from our parishes will be just after Divine Mercy Sunday, the second Sunday of Easter. This is somewhat uncertain at this point due to the fact that I need to obtain a visa before I leave. Because my anticipated departure comes a couple months earlier than the typical time of new priest assignments in our diocese, it is likely that the diocese will try to supply a priest to fill in for a couple months and assist Fr. Nowicki until a new pastor is formally assigned to start at the beginning of July.
Sometimes the Lord shows us that he has other plans, totally different from our expectations, and that is the case here for me. I entrust your spiritual care and concerns to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and I trust in the Lord’s Providence, just as I did at the beginning of my time in Chippewa Falls seven and a half years ago when I made an act of consecration to the Sacred Heart.
One of the reasons this is hard for me is because I recognize that it is not spiritually healthy for a parish community to experience a frequent changeover in pastors. This has happened a lot in our diocese over the last 15 years for several reasons. I consider myself blessed that I was able to be here just short of eight years. Bishop Battersby desires to move toward a greater stability of priest assignments in our diocese, but this will take time and likely result in some changes in our parishes.
Another reason this is hard is because I will truly miss all of you. I have been greatly blessed by the friendship of many of you, and I’ve been edified by the faith, zeal, and holiness of many of you. I’m grateful to you for the many things I have learned here over the years, especially from our staff and key volunteers. I want to thank you for your kindness and charity shown to me over these years and the many ways you’ve been supportive of me.
I ask you to please pray for me and our staff as this is yet another time of transition. I’m not leaving tomorrow, as I still have a couple months. We still have time to grow as more intentional and missionary disciples here together.
In Christ,
Fr. Jesse Burish
