Since such big news came in May, June was mainly helping out at parishes in south Santa Cruz county and northern San Benito county. As I write this I am beginning an eight-day silent retreat at St. Francis Retreat Center in San Juan Bautista. You and your prayer intentions will be in my prayers.

In early June I received news that one of my classmates in elementary and high school, Paul Coty, passed away unexpectedly. I concelebrated at his funeral at Holy Eucharist Church in Corralitos. It was the first time I was home to attend a classmate’s funeral, so I was grateful for the chance. On July 30th I’ll have been back in Watsonville for a year, and it’s been a year full of blessings.

In July I was able to visit Old Mission Santa Ynez for the first time, which is near Solvang, a Danish-themed village with shops and some incredible bakeries. On the way home we dined at a steakhouse in the Madonna Inn at San Luis Obispo, a place with such unique decor it defies description.

Count on my prayers!

I’m happy to share that on August 1st I will start the parish assignment of parochial vicar at St. Patrick’s Church in Watsonville. I was baptized at St. Patrick’s and attended Mass there until I graduated college, and over the years I and the parishioners have seen each other around once a year. Over this last year I’ve ministered to them many times

I’m so excited to have them as my flock with Fr. Jason, the pastor, and Fr. Karl, who’ll also be a parochial vicar. Please keep the parish in your prayers.

I met Bishop Ramon Bejarano at his installation Mass in February and greeted him at the diocesan Chrism Mass in Holy Week, but couldn’t get on his busy schedule earlier than May 5th. We had a great meeting, and last Friday afternoon he called me personally to say he’d accepted my request to be accepted ad experimentum (Latin for “on a trial basis”) into the diocese and that a parish assignment was forthcoming. This would be for 3-5 years. I’ll unpack what this means, since I know it can be confusing.

I’ve been living extra domum (Latin for “out of the house”) for a little over a year. That means I’m living outside of a Legionary community and with no ministry assigned by the Legion. I moved back to Watsonville, California last summer and have been living with my mother and helping out at local parishes. On August 1st I met with the outgoing bishop (Bishop Daniel Garcia) and he and his personnel board decided my request to try diocesan parish ministry should be deferred until new bishop had arrived.

My request to the bishop is to be allowed to work in a parish (which I can already do as a religious priest), but live like a diocesan priest on a trial basis.

What’s the difference?

1. The bishop is responsible for me in ministry and spiritually as part of his diocese.
2. I would not be living in a Legionary community or living as a Legionary or doing ministry as a Legionary. The bishop would ask me to do a ministry of the diocese.
3. I’d live in a parish rectory and take care of my personal needs and finances. My parish would pay me a salary and give me benefits. For all practically purposes, I would have a job again, pay taxes, etc. In the Legion I receive no compensation personally; the Legion receives and compensation for my ministry and takes care of me financially.

In a nutshell, it is putting Legionary religious life on hold and focusing on priestly life exclusively in a diocese. My heart has been telling me over the last year that I need to do a complete trial of being a diocesan parish priest to see if Our Lord is asking me to transition into that life and leave the Legion. I do this mainly because over the last two years I’ve faced some health challenges that seem hard to overcome living the Legionary lifestyle. My year extra domum has benefitted me spiritually and physically. Count on my prayers and I ask for yours as well as I await my diocesan parish assignment.

In my first post on this blog, formerly entitled A Roman Catholic Experience, before the blog even went live (May 1, 2015) I asked Jesus, Mary, and Joseph to bless this blog. They have, abundantly. I continue to entrust it to them. When I first started this blog I named it A Roman Catholic Experience because I was living and working based out of Rome for the foreseeable future. That ended at the start of 2021, and I am now living in the Diocese of Monterey, waiting on an assignment from the bishop to try a parish experience after years in academia and administration. Please keep this in your prayers. I am meeting with him one-on-one on May 5th.

It was time to update the website and fine tune the focus. Hence, Father Nikola at Large.

In the past, posts would come every 6-8 months as long travelogues with pictures. I don’t foresee traveling before the four counties of the diocese any time soon, but I also owe it to all of you, my family and friends, to update you a little more often (once a month or more). So they’ll be shorter, and maybe sometimes without as many photos. I have also added an Events calendar so you can see my public events in case you would like to participate.

Thank you for all your support and adventures with me. God bless you!

Grabado en la parroquia de San Patricio, Watsonville, CA durante Cuaresma, 2026. Basado en mi libro, Maximizing the Mass, publicado por RC Spirituality en inglés y disponible para comprar aqui.

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