Father Simon Retires

Last Sunday, Brian and I, along with ten fellow Holy Family parishioners, drove up to Chico to say goodbye to a dear priest, Father Simon Twomey.


Father Simon is retiring and heading back to his native homeland of Ireland, where he has a 1-acre parcel of land. (Several weeks back, a friend of ours mentioned that Father Simon was retiring. She learned about his upcoming retirement while reading an article in The Catholic Herald. Just FYI: In the article, there is a short and interesting biography of Father Simon's life in case you are interested.)

Brian and I met Father Simon back in the early 1990's when he served as pastor at Holy Family Catholic Church. We both loved Father Simon's sense of humor and engaging homilies. During his homilies, he would often walk down the center aisle of the church along the rows of pews and interact with the congregation. He entertained us with funny stories, but he also helped us to make connections between the bible readings and our own lives.

Fast forward to 2003...
When Brian and I began planning our wedding, we contacted Father Simon (at his church in Grass Valley) to ask if he would be willing to perform our wedding Mass. Luckily, he agreed and on April 24, 2004, he married us at Holy Family Catholic Church. Not surprisingly, he cracked jokes throughout the Mass and delivered a sermon that was both humorous and touching. Many of our friends and family members who attended our wedding said that he was the funniest priest they'd ever met. My favorite Father Simon quote from our wedding is: Thank God for celibacy!


Father Simon and friends: It was hard to say goodbye (yes, my nose is red because I was crying), but I know that Father Simon will be happy in retirement--he'll be able to relax, spend time with family, and tend to his beautiful flowers.


Speaking of flowers, here's the card I created for Father Simon.


I typed up the text "Happy retirement, Father Simon!" in Word and printed it out.

May God bless Father Simon with good health for many years to come. He will be missed...

{supplies}
Paper: Colorbok
Ribbon: Offray
Button: Favorite Findings
Text: Computer-generated
Thread: DMC
Punch: Martha Stewart Butterflies
Rhinestones: Recollections
Misc: Cuttlebug & Embossing Folder (Swiss Dots)