Leadership

At Holy Cross Parish and Friary, leadership is understood first as service. The clergy, religious, and parish leaders of this community are called not to seek distinction for themselves, but to care for souls, proclaim the Gospel, celebrate the sacraments, and help make visible the Kingdom of God in the life of the Church and in the wider world. Holy Cross already presents itself as a welcoming Catholic and Apostolic church devoted to spiritual presence, pastoral ministry, and service to all people, and this page gives that commitment a clearer and more personal expression.

In the Old Catholic tradition, leadership is rooted in apostolic continuity, reverent worship, and pastoral care. Your encyclical speaks of the bishops of this communion as charged to “preserve, defend, and bear faithful witness to the apostolic heritage,” and it frames ecclesial leadership in the spirit of humble service: “Servant of the Servants of God.” That language offers a strong foundation for describing the clergy and leaders of Holy Cross Parish and Friary.

Holy Cross Parish and Friary believes that the leadership of the Church must reflect the life of Christ Himself: prayerful, sacrificial, faithful, and pastoral. Clergy are entrusted with preaching the Word of God, celebrating the holy mysteries, blessing the faithful, and guiding the parish in sound doctrine and Christian charity. Religious leadership within the friary deepens that witness through a life shaped by prayer, fraternity, discipline, and service. Together, clergy and religious serve not as distant officials but as shepherds, teachers, and fellow laborers in the vineyard of the Lord.

Because Holy Cross is both a parish and a friary, its life includes both the outward ministry of a sacramental church and the inward discipline of a community shaped by prayer and devotion. This gives the leadership of Holy Cross a distinctive character: pastoral and sacramental, yet also contemplative, fraternal, and spiritually grounded. The result should be a leadership culture marked by reverence, steadiness, and care for the people entrusted to it.

In the Catholic and Apostolic life of the Church, the bishop serves as a visible sign of continuity, unity, and pastoral oversight. Through apostolic succession, episcopal ministry connects the Church of today to the apostolic mission of the undivided Church. Your encyclical describes this continuity as an “unbroken chain of apostolic succession” and an “unbroken episcopal line,” reaching through Utrecht to Saint Willibrord and to the apostolic heritage of the ancient Church.

The bishop’s role is not merely administrative. He is called to guard the faith, support the clergy, oversee sacramental life, and encourage the faithful in holiness, truth, and peace. In this way, episcopal oversight helps ensure that parish life remains rooted in the faith once delivered to the saints and expressed through the worship, ministry, and teaching of the Church.

The bishop serving Holy Cross Parish and Friary provides episcopal oversight, apostolic leadership, and pastoral support to the clergy and faithful of this community. In continuity with the Old Catholic succession, his ministry is one of service, sacramental care, and faithful witness to the apostolic heritage of the Church.

The clergy of Holy Cross Parish and Friary are entrusted with the day-to-day sacramental and pastoral life of the community. They celebrate the Eucharist, preach the Gospel, administer the sacraments, care for the sick, guide the faithful in prayer, and accompany individuals and families through the joys and sorrows of Christian life. Their vocation is not simply to manage a parish but to shepherd a people.

At Holy Cross, parish clergy should be presented as men who serve with reverence, compassion, and fidelity to the Catholic faith. They are stewards of the Church’s sacramental life and pastors to those who come seeking grace, healing, guidance, and a church home. Whether in worship, preaching, pastoral counsel, hospital visitation, home blessing, funeral ministry, or ordinary conversation, their calling is to make Christ’s care visible among His people. Holy Cross’s current site already highlights sacramental ministries such as baptism, confirmation, marriage, funerals, hospital visits, nursing home visits, home blessings, and emergency chaplaincy.

Deacons and other assisting clergy serve an important role in the life of the Church through works of charity, liturgical service, pastoral support, and the proclamation of the Gospel. Their ministry reflects the servant character of the apostolic Church and reminds the faithful that all ministry exists for the building up of the Body of Christ.

At Holy Cross Parish and Friary, assisting clergy may help lead prayer, support sacramental preparation, serve the altar, preach when appointed, visit the sick, and help coordinate works of mercy and parish outreach. Their service strengthens the parish’s witness as a community of prayer, reverence, and practical love.

As a parish and friary, Holy Cross bears witness not only to sacramental ministry but also to a deeper pattern of prayer, fraternity, and spiritual discipline. The friary expresses a life ordered toward God through common devotion, mutual support, and readiness for service. In that sense, the friary enriches the parish by grounding its outward ministry in an inward life of prayer and consecration.

The religious dimension of Holy Cross should be presented as a gift to the whole church community. A friary is not separate from the parish’s mission; it supports and deepens it. Through the witness of religious life, the faithful are reminded that the Church is called not only to activity but also to prayer; not only to service but also to devotion; not only to ministry but also to holiness. The encyclical’s address to “clergy, religious, and faithful” provides a fitting framework for describing this shared life.

The leadership of the Church is not carried by clergy alone. Faithful laypersons also contribute greatly to the life of Holy Cross Parish and Friary through administration, liturgical preparation, hospitality, outreach, education, communication, and practical service. A healthy parish is one in which ordained and lay vocations work together in charity, each according to the gifts and responsibilities given by God.

Lay leaders help ensure that the welcome of the Gospel is not merely spoken but embodied. They often serve as the first point of contact for visitors, families, and those seeking assistance. In this way, they participate in the parish’s mission of making visible the Kingdom of God and strengthening community life through generosity, order, and compassion.

The leadership of Holy Cross Parish and Friary should be known by certain unmistakable qualities: fidelity to the apostolic faith, reverence in worship, compassion in pastoral care, humility in service, and steadiness in Christian witness. Your encyclical describes this communion as one of “endurance, not of novelty,” and that phrase is especially appropriate here. The clergy and leaders of Holy Cross are called to embody a ministry that is ancient in faith, pastoral in spirit, and generous in welcome.

In practical terms, this means leadership that is approachable, prayerful, sacramental, and deeply attentive to the needs of the faithful. It means honoring the traditions of the Church while extending genuine hospitality to those who seek Christ with sincere hearts. It means leading not by self-assertion but by service shaped by the Cross.

If you are visiting Holy Cross Parish and Friary for the first time, we hope this page helps you know something of the spirit of those who serve here. Our clergy and leaders are committed to worshiping God faithfully, caring for His people, and welcoming all who come seeking prayer, sacramental grace, and a church home. Holy Cross presents itself as a welcoming church committed to spiritual presence and ministry, and this welcome should be visible not only in words, but in the lives of those who lead and serve here.

We invite you to reach out, ask questions, request prayer, or join us for worship. It would be our honor to welcome you to Holy Cross Parish and Friary and to walk with you in the life of Christ and His Church.