The following letter was written by Fr. William J. Harry, O.Carm. the Prior Provincial of the Carmelite Province to which Fr. Leonard belonged. It was read at Sunday masses by Fr. Ashley Harrington, O.Carm., the interim pastor at OLMC, on June 7th.
June 6, 2015
Photo Credit: Linda Steffen
To the Parish Family of Our Lady of Mount Carmel,
On behalf of the Carmelites, I would like to thank all those who came together with us to celebrate the life of Fr. Leonard Gilman. He was your pastor and our brother. As I said at the Vigil Service for Fr. Leonard, most of us are experiencing a very wide range of emotions. For many, the fact that Fr. Leonard died and the circumstances of his death have created an emptiness – that is, our loss being experienced in a very real, normal way.
I am not a psychologist and a letter being read on a Sunday morning is not ideal. But I do want to express some of my own thoughts and hopefully move the community towards some healing. I think the best way to deal with Fr. Leonard’s death is to talk about him – certainly not in a gossipy way, but talking about his relation to us and how his death has impacted us. During my stay at Our Lady of Mount Carmel these past few days, many of you have told me stories about your relationship with Fr. Leonard – this helped me a great deal and I hope you telling me those stories helped you. To the young people of the parish, I would ask that you talk to your parents about what you are feeling. All of us need to remember there are no right or wrong feelings. We are human beings and we have feelings – and it is good for us to acknowledge them. Please take the opportunity to do so.
I also wanted to let you know what steps are being taken to appoint a new pastor at Our Lady of Mount Carmel. I have asked Fr. Ashley Harrington, O.Carm. to be the interim administrator of the parish. He graciously agreed and began on Friday [June 5th]. This appointment is until June 30, 2015. As administrator he will make sure, working with the parish staff, that the ministries and activities of the parish continue uninterrupted. If there are pastoral needs requiring a priest, Fr. Ashley will be responsible for those.
As prior provincial of the Carmelites, it is my responsibility to nominate a new pastor to the archbishop. In the coming week I will be meeting with the provincial council, five men elected by the other Carmelites to advise me, to begin that process. Your next pastor will be a Carmelite, but Archbishop Myers will make the appointment.
This weekend I am in Niagara Falls, Ontario for the ordination of a Carmelite to priesthood. On Sunday evening and Monday morning, I will be in Middletown, New York for the investiture of four new novices and the profession of another. Our lives continue on, building the Kingdom, just as I believe Fr. Leonard would want for each of us.
Let us continue to pray for one another.
Peace,
Fr. Bill
V. Rev. William J. Harry, O.Carm.
Prior Provincial