BY GRETCHEN KEISER

Staff Writer

ATLANTA--The Redemptorist religious order will assume pastoral care of St. John the Evangelist Parish, Hapeville, on Feb. 1, 1996.

At the same time parishes in McDonough and Lookout Mountain that are served by Redemptorists will be returned to the care of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. In addition, the parish of St. Gerard in Fort Oglethorpe will be returned to the archdiocese next June.

The changes were initiated at the request of the Redemptorists, an order with a 50-year history of missionary work in North Georgia. The community is experiencing fewer vocations to religious life and, following a series of gatherings, the order felt it was necessary to restructure its presence in the Southeast, according to Father Michael Dillon, CSsR, vice-provincial.

An important concern was the Redemptorists' need to live in community. Present parish assignments in the archdiocese place the Redemptorist priests at a significant distance from one another, usually in one-priest rectories. The order also sought to return to their founder's vision.

In consultation with Archbishop John F. Donoghue, the decision for the Redemptorists to serve at St. John's in Hapeville was made. It is expected that three Redemptorists will be assigned there, with one of the three to serve in Hispanic ministry, Father Dillon said.

Parishioners in Hapeville and at St. James Parish, McDonough, were told of the upcoming changes in the fall. The new assignments for archdiocesan priests moving Feb. 1, 1996 are being published in this issue of The Georgia Bulletin. The assignments for Redemptorist priests will be announced following a provincial meeting Jan. 8, Father Dillon said.

Msgr. Henry Gracz, currently pastor of St. John the Evangelist, will become pastor of St. James in McDonough effective Feb. 1. Father Frank Richardson, currently a parochial vicar at Holy Family Parish, Marietta, will become the new pastor of Our Lady of the Mount in Lookout Mountain, Tenn. This is his first assignment as a pastor and will be effective Feb. 1.

Father Tim Gadziala, who has been serving as parochial vicar at St. John the Evangelist, will be assigned as a parochial vicar at Holy Family Parish, Marietta, effective Feb. 1. He will also serve the North Metro Serra Club as a chaplain.

Msgr. Edward Dillon, vicar general of the archdiocese, praised the contribution of the order to the development of the church in North Georgia and their willingness to work with the archdiocese to accommodate changes.

"At one point everything north of Marietta was Redemptorist," Msgr. Dillon recalled. During those years the charism of living in community was sacrificed in order to help the archdiocese with needed priests.

Now the Redemptorist provincial council "was concerned if at all possible that we try to work with them so their men could live in reasonable proximity to one another," Msgr. Dillon said. "Fortunately we were able to accommodate them."

The archdiocese is blessed to have newly ordained priests in good numbers, he said, but lacks a structure to provide them with "a reasonable amount of administrative experience quickly." Some new priests are becoming heads of missions or parishes two years after ordination, he said. He expressed gratitude that the Redemptorists worked with the archdiocese over the past two years in planning this transition, delaying until a time when the archdiocese had the priestly manpower.

The Redemptorist vice-provincial echoed his evaluation of the process. "Our relationship has been great with the archdiocese," Father Dillon said. He expressed great anticipation of the opportunity for the order to work at the parish of St. John the Evangelist and said the order was sending their best to work in Hapeville.