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Friday, March 29, 2024

New vicar general: Ensuring safe environments is top priority

Father Lachowitzer
Father Lachowitzer

Father Charles Lachowitzer, recently named as the new vicar general and moderator of the curia in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, said he is already beginning to transition into his new position.

“My first priority is the archbishop’s first priority,” Father Lacho­witzer said. “M­y work has already begun to ensure that the new task force has access to whatever it needs in order to complete its work. Making sure we are doing everything in our power to create safe environments is absolutely critical to the work of the Church.”

(See a story about the new Safe Environment and Ministerial Standards Task Force.)

Father Lachowitzer, currently pastor of St. John Neumann in Eagan and a regional vicar, said the full transition to his new responsibilities will happen over the next month and a half. He expects to begin working full time at the chancery by Advent.

As vicar general and moderator of the curia, he will assist the archbishop in the general care and administration of the archdiocese.

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He replaces Father Peter Laird, who resigned Oct. 3 from the position.

Auxiliary Bishop Lee Piché will serve as vicar general and moderator of the curia on an interim basis until Father Lachowitzer is fully into his new role. Bishop Piché previously served in that position for the archdiocese from 2008 to 2009.

Father Lachowitzer was ordained a priest of the archdiocese in 1990, following his graduation from St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity. Prior to his appointment as pastor at St. John Neumann in 2002, he was an associate priest at St. Michael in Stillwater and later served as pastor of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Father Laird served since November 2009 as vicar general and moderator of the curia. He will continue to serve in a variety of roles within the archdiocese, including as the temporary administrator at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Maplewood.

“I am hopeful my decision to step aside at this time, along with the formation of a new task force can help repair the trust of many, especially the victims of abuse,” he said in an archdiocesan statement announcing his resignation. “I know the leadership, the dedicated staff and my fellow priests in the archdiocese are sincerely committed to proactively addressing these difficult issues.”

 


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