Parish of the Precious Blood

On February 20, 2025, Most Reverend James T. Ruggieri, Bishop of the Diocese of Portland, met with members of the Pastoral and Finance Councils and Parish representatives at Holy Rosary’s Parish Center. The purpose of this meeting was to respond to our submitted Parish profile and offer thoughts about ways that our Parish and the Christian faithful in the Caribou, Presque Isle, and surrounding areas can move forward to create an increasingly more vibrant Catholic community. After consultation with the Priest Personnel Board, his response is to present us with the following recommendations. In our profile, we stated that we have one of the largest territories in the Diocese and that having 10 worship sites prevents us from creating the vibrant Parish we would like it to be. So, in thinking about current and future needs, the Bishop stated, “It is clear that there is a need for a greater priest presence in the communities served by the Parish of the Precious Blood. Greater attention needs to be paid to those priorities we have laid out in our profile. We have many families in the Parish; focusing on them and developing ministries to walk with them will be essential. Identifying the most helpful locations to make these ministries flourish will also be necessary.” The Bishop would like us to consider that beginning on July 1, 2025, there would be a priest living in the following towns: Van Buren, Caribou, and Presque Isle. Over the next year, we need to identify, recommend, and agree upon the most appropriate and manageable boundaries for the new parishes which includes the current Parish of the Precious Blood and St. Peter Chanel in Van Buren. Each Parish at that moment will consist of four church sites that will be served by one priest. The Bishop continued to say that he believes it would greatly benefit us as people of God and the priests assigned. We need to create two separate parishes from the current Parish of the Precious Blood, one whose base is in Caribou and the other with a base in Presque Isle. In all this, he is asking that Fr. Tony be the designated Moderator with two other priests assigned in solidum in accord with CIC c. 517 §1. Fr. Tony’s role as Moderator would be facilitating the team ministry for the Parish of the Precious Blood during the planning phase to transition to two separate parishes. Each of the priests in solidum has the same rights and duties as the Moderator. However, it will be Fr. Tony’s charge to direct the joint action and report to the Bishop. Over the next year, or sooner, Bishop Ruggieri will be asking Fr. Tony, the two other priests in solidum, and, with input from parishioners, to make a recommendation for the appropriate boundaries of these three new parishes. Fr. Tony will also ensure that the number of Masses for each priest assigned to the current and/or possible future configuration of St. Peter Chanel Parish and the successor parishes to the Parish of the Precious Blood conforms to four. Four Masses can mean that there are two vigil Masses on Saturday and two on Sunday, or one vigil Mass on Saturday and three on Sunday. Four Masses for each priest would be the maximum possible beginning July 1, 2025.