Pastoral Supervisors Appreciation
Over the 2025–2026 academic and formation year, Theological College seminarians have been welcomed at 14 local parishes, four campuses, two hospitals, and one prison for ministry assignments. In gratitude for the leadership and guidance in each of their placements, the Pastoral Supervisors Appreciation Vespers and Banquet on April 14 hosted our valued mentors in pastoral work.
Father Jaime E. Robledo, P.S.S., Coordinator of Pastoral Formation, Spiritual Formation, and Liturgy, presided at Evening Prayer. He reflected with appreciation on the pastoral ministry program that was formally introduced at TC in 1971 by Father Gerald Brown, P.S.S. (1938–2024), as one of the country’s first supervised pastoral ministry programs that was incorporated into Catholic University’s School of Religious Studies program for all seminarians. Fifty-five years later, following the directives of the Magisterium and in response to the cultural and human challenges priests are facing today, the program continues to evolve and grow. Father Robledo acknowledged with deep gratitude the indispensability of the pastoral supervisors. He said, “We thank you supervisors for your vocation, your ministry, and your generosity in collaborating with our mission of forming pastors to serve the People of God. Gathered here is a community of living stones who offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. This evening we pray together that our hearts burn within us for Jesus, who talks and walks with us on the road of this mission.”
An exemplar of the qualities of a superior pastoral formator, Father Charles Gallagher, pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Washington, D.C., accepted the Rev. Gerald L. Brown, P.S.S., Award for Excellence in Pastoral Ministry Supervision. A priest for 16 years, he recalled that from his childhood he had great admiration for and eventual aspiration toward diocesan parish ministry, inspired by his first pastor, Father Rick Gancayco in Hyattsville. His love for parish work has only grown with the years, some of which he has shared with TC seminarians in teaching pastoral homiletics and in hosting them for ministry assignments at Immaculate Conception.
His mentee of two years, Deacon Stephen Parker (pictured above), commented, “I have had the distinct joy to witness Father Charlie’s paternal charity to all parishioners and to me as I learned to operate the OCIA program, to take on marriage and baptism preparation, and to offer Sunday homilies. His personal guidance on the priestly life has been invaluable, and all the while I was also learning up close, by example. Father Charlie speaks directly to the heart of parishioners living and working in a complicated environment during challenging times of their lives. He has provided a model of Christ the Good Shepherd who goes out to seek lost sheep and bring them back to the flock. I look forward to emulating this model of the priesthood in my own ministry after ordination!”
