St. Pius X Staff

A pastoral administrator is the bishop's appointed leader and public face of the parish who oversees all the aspects of the life of the community: pastoral, spiritual, and temporal. I am responsible for the spiritual life of the community, the faith formation of all its members, all the ministries, our liturgy, all the social events, and I am the trustee and secretary of all the material goods of the community. In short, I am responsible for all the pastoral care of our parishioners and for spreading the Gospel and living our Catholic traditions within our parish boundaries.

I have a passion for teaching theology and guiding individuals and groups as they interpret and apply Church teachings in their life. I possess a Master of Arts in Theological Studies and I have continued my studies. In addition, I have completed the Theory of Constraints – Jonah Program from the Avraham Goldratt Institute. (www.goldratt.com) The Theory of Constraints (TOC) is a methodology of problem solving, conflict resolution, and plan development that is very conducive to producing ongoing improvement within communities great and small and works well for life coaching too. Prior to entering into full-time ministry, I was a Director of Operations for a six million dollar (in sales) corporation in the Automation and Specialty Tool sector here in Rochester. I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering with a concentration on Robotics. Over fourteen years, I had worked my way up the chain of command starting as a Mechanical Engineer, Project Manager, Senior Project Manager, and Engineering Manager. Looking back upon this career, I really enjoyed the challenge of working with large projects with fiscal, managerial, sales, and technical issues.

Lastly, I have a long standing role to facilitate the Chili Minister's Monthly Meetings. This is an ecumenical group of pastors and ministers reaching across denominational lines to foster fellowship. Each year our communties worship together at the National Day of Prayer event on the first Thursday of May.

I have travelled all over North America and the Caribbean. Nature proclaims and praises the goodness of God by its very grandeur from the peaks of the Grand Tetons, to the deserts of Mexico, to the tropical beaches of Barbados. I find my travels lead me wanting to witness God's awesome presence in his creation and to respond to God's presence with creativity in my own life. Being a father and husband helps me to live out that creative drive. Being an accomplished Highland Bagpiper over the past fifteen years fills what little gap is left. I have two children and a beautiful wife as my partners in this journey. I am grateful for their support.

I hope that together, we, as the community of Saint Pius X, can witness God's greatness to the Gates-Chili area and continue to create a meaningful and effective ways that spread the Gospel into the wider area and more deeply in our hearts.

When I am not service as deacon, I am a principal and portfolio manager at Forte Capital in Pittsford.

My work at St Pius includes preaching, serving at mass, sacramental duties, sick and hospice visits. I am also coordinating the introduction of the Stephen Ministry to the parish.

It is a great blessing to be a part of the team at St. Pius helping to enrich the faith experience of all those who call this their Parish, their spiritual family.

From 1963-1983, Sister Mary Anne taught in several of the elementary schools of the Albany and Syracuse Dioceses. That 20-year period found her in various locations in New York State: Troy, Utica, Syracuse, Oswego and Binghamton.

From 1983-1996, Sister Mary Anne directed a faith formation program for youth at Our Lady of Angels Parish in Endwell, NY. Her interest in other forms of parish ministry began there with the opportunity to become involved with the RCIA, the Human Development and Liturgy Committees, visitation to the homebound and adult faith formation.

From September 1996 to May 1997, Sister Mary Anne had the opportunity for some "sabbatical" time at BERAKAH Spiritual Center in Pittsfield, New Hampshire. This was a treasured time for prayer, leisure, study and travel as well as being enriched by meeting new friends, both religious and lay, from all over the world. The courses and workshops in Scripture, Theology, Prayer, Spirituality, Church and Ministry, provided further growth and renewal. Upon completion of her time at BERAKAH, Mary Anne was fortunate to be able to be part of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in May of 1997. This was truly a blessed and unforgettable experience! Pursuing a call to parish ministry, Sister Mary Anne joined the staff here at St. Pius Tenth in August of 1997.

I was born and raised in St. Pius X Parish (my Mom, Lois DeRycke, taught 3rd Grade for 25 years here), and have worked in Church Ministry and Leadership all my adult life in various parishes throughout Rochester, with a great love and appreciation for God's gifts working in all different kinds of people and families.

My undergraduate and graduate degrees are from the State University of New York at Brockport. I have additional credits from the University of Rochester and Fordham University. As a History Major, I started my career teaching Social Studies to junior high students. The study of history and current events continues to excite me. My dream retirement job would be teaching American History and Politics to young people at the college level. I also enjoy downhill skiing, golf, and racquetball. After finishing my Master’s Program, I found myself interested in pursuing a certification program in school administration. About that same time, the position of principal of Saint Pius X School became open and the rest is history.

I have been, or presently am a member of, several committees and boards associated with the Diocese of Rochester and other area educational institutions. They include, Catholic Schools of Monore County Finance Committee, University of Rochester Catholic School Leadership Program, Bishop Kearney High School Board, Leadership Academy of the Genesee Region, Diocese of Rochester Personnel Commission, Irondequoit Pastoral Planning Group and the New York State Employers & Administrators Drug and Alcohol Council.

My wife Betty and I have been married for over thirty five years. She is a RN, working for the County of Monroe Department of Human and Health Services. We have three adult sons.

It has been a privilege to serve our community since 1975, as teacher and principal of Saint Pius Tenth School. During my tenure at Saint Pius X, I have had the opportunity of interacting with thousands of children and their families. The time I have spent at Saint Pius X has been filled with many rewarding experiences. I have always looked forward to coming to work each day because of the friendly and pleasant atmosphere I find prevalent in our school. This environment is a result of a great staff and supportive parents, who entrust us with their greatest treasure, their children.

In 1981 I was totally smitten with an Irish Catholic lass, and took her immediately for my bride. We have brought 5 amazing new people into this world; three sons and two daughters. They all still live at home with us in Greece, along with a menagerie of God's other creatures.

Looking to build a closer relationship to God, I joined the Roman Catholic Church at the Easter vigil in 1994. I could not have anticipated the whirlwind that would engulf me from that point on. The following fall, a friend tapped me on the shoulder and said, "You should join the choir, you're not half bad!", and my life was changed forever. From being a choir member, I continued on to cantoring, the diocesan festival choir, music selection team, and the liturgy committee. Now I've moved on to St Bernard's institute, where I will be receiving my certificate as a Liturgy Coordinator in the spring of 2005. I have served the Church at St Helen’s in Gates, Sacred Heart Cathedral, and at St Joseph's in Rush. I have had many fine mentors, and a lot of help along the way.

I joined the staff at St Pius X in July 2003, and have been incredibly blessed by the reception I have received. There is a great volunteer spirit and commitment to excellence in all areas of ministry here. We are always looking for new friends to get involved in our music, so tap on the shoulder of someone next to you and say: "You should join the choir, you're not half bad!"

I am a native of the Town of Greece and have been joyously married to my wife Mary for 30+ years. Mary is a licensed nurse and has been a catechist for most of her adult life. Mary currently works at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in the Faith Formation office, following her call to bring our faith to children. I come to St. Pius Tenth Parish after having retired from Eastman Kodak in late 2010 with more than 30 years of professional experience in leadership, purchasing, and information technology. Mary and I have been blessed with two wonderful children, both of whom are adults now and living in western states. Our daughter Beth lives in San Francisco CA with her husband Matt, and she is completing studies toward becoming a midwife. Our son Jeff lives in Flagstaff AZ and is a nationally ranked distance runner, competing internationally and working toward making the US Olympic Team.

After entering the Community, I continued my education at Nazareth Normal School and received my degree in education from Nazareth College. 53 years later after teaching in various schools (Grades Kdg. to Gr. 6) I found my self "retired." Of the 53 years of teaching, I found myself graced to have spent 32 years at St. Pius X School. Many wonderful years and I met many outstanding teachers.

In September of 2004, Father Dan was looking for a Volunteer Coordinator in the Parish and he asked me if I would be interested. I quickly responded "yes". I thoroughly enjoy the position; it gives me an opportunity to serve in a years later after teaching in various schools (Grades Kdg. to Gr. 6) I found my self "retired." Of the 53 years of teaching, I found myself graced to have spent 32 years at St. Pius X School. Many wonderful years and I met many outstanding teachers.

In September of 2004, Father Dan was looking for a Volunteer Coordinator in the Parish and he asked me if I would be interested. I quickly responded "yes". I thoroughly enjoy the position; it gives me an opportunity to serve in a variety of ways.

The people of this parish are "gift". They are giving and friendly and quickly respond when called upon to help.