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Father Guay installed as head of Vicariate 1
archived from: 2009-11-23
by: John Franko

Father Robert Guay said the new vicariate structure of the Diocese of Pittsburgh is more than just about doing something new. It is an opportunity to place an even greater sense of trust and hope in God and in one another, in a church that is truly alive.

“Without God we can’t produce,” he said. “Without others we can’t produce. But with God and each other all things are possible.”

Father Guay reflected on the need for collaboration within the local church during a Nov. 10 prayer service in which he was installed as regional vicar of Vicariate 1. Bishop David Zubik presided at the ceremony at St. Sebastian Church in Ross Township.

Father Guay pointed out that trust is an essential ingredient in the new model. He noted the time, research, discussion and prayer involved with the formation of the vicariate model. All done, he said, in the hope and desire of creating a more vibrant church.

The goal, he said, is to create a church that desires to know, love and serve the Lord Jesus, a church that wants to share the Gospel of Jesus with others, and a church that moves people to be nourished by and supportive of the sacraments.

“A church that allows the Holy Spirit of God to move our hearts and our lives to a better appreciation of our faith,” he said.

In pointing to Pope John Paul II’s 1987 apostolic letter, in which the Holy Father stated, “The church needs you and you need the church,” Father Guay said the faithful must possess a sense of a church that is alive. They must be receptive to the direction of the Holy Spirit.

“We are the body of Christ,” he said. “We are in this together.”

Bishop Zubik said just as St. Paul challenged early Christians to be the “temple of God,” we are challenged to be temples built on the foundation of Jesus.

The vicariate structure, he said, will provide “a new way of looking at each other” and allow the Church of Pittsburgh to better respond to the movement of the Holy Spirit.

“Innovative for sure, but attentive to one thing and one thing only,” he said. “To remind us that we build up the temple of God.”

The new model, the bishop added, will allow the faithful to see themselves as members of the family of God, not as individuals. It will help them to reach out to their neighbors and be better servants to one another.

In introducing Father Guay to the congregation, the bishop described him as a leader that clearly walks in the footsteps of Christ.

“For over 36 years of his priesthood he has proven himself in so many ways, a man so deeply in love with Jesus and so deeply in love with the church,” he said.

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