STAMFORD—Father Marco Pacciana, who led Redemptoris Mater Diocesan Missionary Seminary of Bridgeport for five years of growth and expansion into a new home, is leaving to take an assignment as rector of a seminary in Quito, Ecuador.
“We are grateful for Father Marco’s joyful and faith-filled leadership in the formation of the seminarians entrusted to him. Father Marco has been a true partner in the important work of preparing men for the sacred priesthood. We will miss him even as we send our prayers and best wishes as he starts his new assignment,” said Bishop Frank J. Caggiano, who was responsible for bringing Redemptoris Mater to the Diocese of Bridgeport in 2015.
During Father Pacciana’s years as rector, the seminary celebrated the first ordination of one of its seminarians to the transitional diaconate, and he is expected to be ordained to the priesthood next year. In May 2020, the seminary moved into a new house at 894 Newfield Avenue, the former St. John Fisher Seminary, where Father Pacciana launched a renovation program that is still under way.
There are currently 15 seminarians in the house, 12 in residence and three on mission. Of those, 11 will be assigned to the Diocese of Bridgeport and four to the Archdiocese of Hartford.
“I loved my years in Bridgeport,” Father Pacciana said. “It was my first experience as a rector, and working with Bishop Caggiano was a beautiful grace. We had a wonderful working relationship and a strong bond. No matter where I go, Bridgeport will always be in my heart. This place formed me. It is where I started as a rector.”
Father Pacciana was honored for his work on Sunday during a reception at Sacred Heart Church in Stamford. He will begin his new assignment at the Redemptoris Mater seminary in Quito this week.
Father also expressed his heartfelt affection and appreciation for the men in the seminary he is leaving.
“The closest thing to being the father of a family is being the rector of a seminary,” he said. “I was in the house the whole time, and it was a beautiful family atmosphere, where I saw these men maturing from the time they entered until now, when they are close to ordination. The important thing has been for me to be there for them so they could see there was someone who cared for them—someone who also corrected them when necessary and gave them a strong word. Sometimes I was tough, sometimes I was soft. And sometimes we laughed.”
Redemptoris Mater (Mother of the Redeemer) seminaries are under the auspices of the Neocatechumenal Way, a 55-year-old charism in the Church dedicated to Christian formation and the New Evangelization. The seminaries form men as missionary diocesan priests to serve the local church or in any part of the world the bishop chooses.
The seminary in Stamford was established in 2015 on the Feast of Immaculate Conception through the efforts of Bishop Caggiano. It was first located at Sacred Heart Church in Stamford.
Father Pacciana previously was parochial vicar at St. Mary Church in Plainfield, NJ. A native of Bari, Italy, he grew up in the town of Ginosa and was introduced to the Neocatechumenal Way at age 19. From then, his life changed. He was led by the Lord to the priesthood and a strong commitment to the mission of Redemptoris Mater seminaries.
He said the Neocatechumenal Way is founded on small Christian communities in parishes worldwide. Begun in Madrid in 1964 by Spanish artist Kiko Arguello and lay missionary Carmen Hernandez, the Way has spread to 900 dioceses in 105 countries with 25,000 communities in 6000 parishes. Its goal is the formation of Christians committed to the Word of God, the Eucharist and strengthening the Church. In the Diocese of Bridgeport, there are 15 communities in five parishes.
Father Pacciana points out that the process for the approval of a Redemptoris Mater seminary can take years. However, Bishop Caggiano’s request was approved within two weeks, which to him is a sign that God wanted it here.
Redemptoris Mater international seminaries were inspired by St. Pope John Paul II and his call for a “New Evangelization.” The first seminary opened in 1987 in the Diocese of Rome, and today there are 127 on five continents.
Since they began, more than 2000 men have been ordained to the priesthood, and some 1,500 seminarians are in formation worldwide. Even though they have an international character, they function as diocesan seminaries with the same theological formation, except that the young men are also sent out to do mission work for two years.
The Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Stamford opened in January 2016 under the direction of Father Alfonso Picone, pastor of Sacred Heart Church. It was the ninth in the United States.
Several years ago, Archbishop Leonard P. Blair of the Archdiocese of Hartford asked for a section of the seminary to prepare men for vocations in the archdiocese.
“We need priests to spread the Gospel of Christ wherever there is a need,” Father Pacciana said.
Of the men in formation, Father has said: “They are not angels, but they said yes to the call of God in their lives and were pulled away from their families, their friends and their countries to come here to become missionary priests.”
