Father John Worgul, a priest of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, will lead Sykesville parish

Archbishop William E. Lori has appointed a priest of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter as pastor of St. Joseph in Sykesville.

Father John Worgul, who has served the Carroll County parish as a priest and pastoral associate for evangelization and adult formation since 2014, will take on the pastor’s role July 1.  He will succeed Marianist Father Neville O’Donohue.

Citing a declining and aging population of priests and brothers within its congregation, the Marianists announced in February they will withdraw from the parish effective June 30. The Marianists had served St. Joseph for nearly four decades, shepherding a fast-growing faith community that now counts more than 2,200 families.

The Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter is a jurisdiction equivalent to a diocese that serves Catholics coming from the Anglican spiritual tradition. In addition to being pastor of St. Joseph, Father Worgul will continue to shepherd St. Timothy’s Catholic Church, an Ordinariate parish presently worshiping in Catonsville. Father Worgul and his wife, Kathy, live in Finksburg and have two adult children.

Father Worgul grew up in the Baptist tradition and attended a Presbyterian seminary. He taught Old Testament and Hebrew in a Baptist seminary for 15 years before joining the Anglican religious community and becoming an Anglican priest. He later joined the Catholic Church and became a Catholic priest in 2013.

According to a May 21 news release from the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Ordinariate intends to assign a soon-to-be-ordained celibate priest as an associate pastor who will live at the St. Joseph rectory.

The archdiocese noted that St. Joseph will remain a parish of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The Ordinariate priests will celebrate Masses and sacraments at St. Joseph according to the Roman Missal, as Father Worgul already is doing. The “Ordinariate Use” Mass and sacraments will only be offered to the St. Timothy community, according to the archdiocese.

St. Joseph celebrates its Masses at a church in Eldersburg that was built under the leadership of the Marianists in 1998. It also has a historic church that was competed in 1873 that has been used for daily prayer in recent years.

“The Ordinariate is presently in discussion with the archdiocese and St. Joseph regarding a rental agreement for the St. Timothy community to use the historic Sykesville church on a limited basis, similar to how they presently use facilities at St. Mark, Catonsville,” an archdiocesan statement said. “The historic church will remain the property of St. Joseph and be available for primary use by St. Joseph.”

The archdiocese noted that as COVID-19 restrictions are gradually phased out, “it is envisioned that the historic Sykesville church will reopen for daily prayer as it was prior to the pandemic.”

Because Father Worgul worked closely with Father O’Donohue, he is familiar with the Marianist tradition, according to the archdiocese, and “will do his best to nourish the Marianist legacy and charism in the St. Joseph community.”

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org.

For a question and answer sheet on the transition in leadership, click here.

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