As you read “A Vision for Parish Leadership,” you will encounter the term Senior Priest/Priest Minister. This title is adapted from Serving Shoulder to Shoulder, the comprehensive overview of the Parish Life Director model, published by Cardinal Roger Mahony and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. It refers to the responsibilities of the ordained in the context of the Parish Life Director model ofleadership. Let us look at the specific roles and responsibilities of this position.

In the Parish Life Director leadership model, the title Senior Priest/Priest Minister refers to a priest who has been appointed to work in conjunction with the Parish Life Director to coordinate the liturgical and sacramental life of the parish. The Senior Priest/Priest Minister “provides both spiritual and pastoral leadership and nourishes faith life primarily through Eucharistic Liturgy and other sacramental celebrations” (“A Vision for Parish Leadership”).

According to Holy Family’s parish leadership plan, the Senior Priest/Priest Minister will have the following responsibilities:

• Work closely with the Parish Life Director, any other parish priest(s), parish staff, parish leadership and the faith community.
• Celebrate the Eucharist and perform the other sacraments, as needed, for the parish community.
• Collaborate with the parish Liturgy Committee and the parish Director of Liturgy to:

1. Plan and celebrate the liturgy
2. Make full use of the various ministries
3. Encourage the full, conscious, and active participation of the assembly

• Ensure, as a representative of the Archbishop, that the sacramental and other liturgical rites are celebrated within the norms of the liturgical documents and diocesan liturgical norms.
• Assume other pastoral responsibilities as mutually agreed upon with the Parish Life Director.