GREENFIELD — Every pew was filled on Sunday morning when parishioners at Holy Trinity Catholic Church said goodbye to the longtime priest at the church, Monsignor Ronald Yargeau.
Yargeau retired on Sunday after 17 years at the Greenfield church. He thanked all of those at the church in his parting homily.
Yargeau said his 17 years at the church had gone quickly and that he was thankful for this time in Greenfield, but knew it was time to move on and let a new leader guide the parish.
Father Tim Campoli will take over as priest.
On Sunday, Yargeau told the story of his first visit to Holy Trinity in 1973, many years before he would come to serve as the priest there. He was visiting a friend from seminary school who was at the church.
While the two friends were talking, he recalled, another priest told him this was a wonderful parish and speculated that Yargeau would someday return as pastor, something Yargeau didn’t anticipate at the time.
“I don’t know what Father Harry knew but he was right,” he said. “It’s a wonderful parish.”
The entire congregation stood and applauded Yargeau’s final remarks.
Sunday was also the 149th anniversary of the opening of the church.
Yargeau said Holy Trinity is considered the “mother church” of the Catholic churches in the area, considering it was the first church in Franklin County, and the others grew out of this one. The church recently completed a $500,000 restoration of the rectory.
Bishop of the Springfield diocese, Mitchell Rozanski, presided over Sunday’s services as well and spoke about how the church was lucky to have Yargeau for as long as they have, but said a priest never truly finishes his work.
“A priest never really retires from ministry,” he said.
The Bishop thanked Yargeau for his work at the church and said he hoped younger generations would be called to the same work, something Yargeau echoed in his remarks. Yargeau said all worshippers in the church have to continue to spread its message.
“No matter who we are and what we do, the call is the same for you and me,” he said.
Reach Miranda Davis
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