Bishop pledges diocese solidarity with Gregory

Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey went to the flood-stricken community of Gregory on Sunday, April 22, to celebrate Mass at Immaculate Conception Parish and to show his solidarity with the parish and the community. He told parishioners that the entire diocese was with them and that a special collection was being asked in all parishes to help the restore their church.
Some 80 percent of the community of 2,500 residents was flooded when the city received 15 inches of rain on April 16. The chapel, rectory and church office at Immaculate Conception were flooded; only the parish hall was spared and that is where the bishop celebrated Mass.

Bishop Mulvey, accompanied by Vicar General Msgr. Louis Kihneman III and Chancellor Father Joseph Lopez, told the faithful that the entire diocese was with them. Catholic Charities would be in town later in the week to help, as well as youth groups from other parishes in the diocese.

Father Raju Thottankara, pastor at Immaculate Conception, was on vacation when the flooding occurred. Bishop Mulvey said he had spoken “with Father Raju and he said he wanted to come back.” The bishop told him to finish his vacation, that there would be “plenty of work” when he returns.

Msgr. Mark Chamberlin from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in neighboring Portland and Dean of the Corpus Christi Central Deanery to which Immaculate Conception belongs, visited Gregory earlier in the week and assured the faithful that arrangements would be made to make sure that a priest was available for all scheduled Masses.

Bishop Mulvey reminded parishioners that the Church is still in the Easter Season in which Christ made a number of appearances after His resurrection to reassure His followers that He had conquered death and was alive. This, the bishop said, had great significance to them in Gregory.

With every tragedy there is a new solution, he said. Like Jesus, they too can resurrect their lives.

“There is always hope, there is always a solution, there is a tomorrow,” Bishop Mulvey said.

The bishop reminded them of the words of Cardinal Timothy Dolan at the recent Centennial Formation conference when he said that as Catholics we should walk around with a smile. You may be experiencing a situation that seems like a death but “look up to the Heavens, look inside and smile,” Bishop Mulvey said.

“He is alive.”

Turning to Gregory Mayor Victor Lara, who provided the liturgical music at the Mass, Bishop Mulvey said that the community should launch a “campaign of smiles.”

Mayor Lara said the bishop’s words of solidarity and his encouragement to place their hope in the Risen Lord meant a lot to the townspeople. He echoed the words from the bishop’s homily that a campaign of smiles was certainly in order. 

The mayor said that despite the great loss, it would not be hard to get a smile from the people.