Fr. Patrick is a friend of mine.  As I make that statement, I realize that there are dozens, perhaps hundreds of St. Patrick’s parishioners who feel the same way.  He has been our friend in so many ways.

Whether he stood at your bedside in the hospital, attended sports events you competed in, or provided a compassionate listening ear in a time of need — he has been a good friend.

Perhaps the best part about his appointment as pastor of Infant Jesus in Port Jefferson is that he won’t be far away — close enough for visits.  (There are a couple of excellent ice cream shops nearby.)  In fact, friends from his previous parish in Garden City have never let distance deter them. It’s not unusual for friends from Garden City to come to St. Patrick’s rectory for a visit.

Fr. Patrick Riegger grew up in Farmingville — one of four children born to George and Patricia Riegger.  He graduated from Sachem High School and received a B.A. Degree in Business Administration from Stony Brook University.  Throughout high school and college, Fr. Patrick was an excellent cross country runner.  He earned All County honors in High School, was named NCJAA All American in men’s college cross country, and Most Valuable Runner for Stony Brook University.  In 1994, he finished 10th overall in the Newsday Half Marathon.

Fr. Patrick entered the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in the fall of 1995 and was ordained on June 9th, 2001.  His first assignment was as associate pastor at St. Anne’s in Garden City where he served for four years.  He came to St. Patrick’s in June of 2005.  He quickly became an integral part of our parish.  When the announcement of his appointment as pastor at Infant Jesus came several weeks ago, you could almost hear a collective sigh of disappointment throughout St. Patrick’s.  We will miss him.  Perhaps some of those who will miss him the most are those who are involved with parish organizations he moderated.

Who better to welcome you into the church than Fr. Patrick?  The RCIA Team and the many candidates who completed the program under Fr. Patrick’s direction will miss him.  Anyone who was apprehensive about entering or returning to the church was immediately put at ease by his easygoing nature.  As one candidate noted: “When I went for my interview and Fr. Patrick came in wearing a Mets T-shirt and baseball cap, I knew I was home.”

For all the boys who went through eighth grade at St. Patrick School over the past five years, Fr. Patrick was the very devoted, highly enthusiastic moderator of Friday Football. He initiated the “Alumni Classic,” inviting high school age alumni back for a game and treating them to pizza and commemorative patches.  At the end of Friday Football, Fr. Patrick gave a commemorative medal to each participant.  If you ever made a great pass, catch or other good play, he was sure to comment.

It was also great to be an altar server with Fr. Patrick.  He patiently trained dozens of servers over the years and was quick to remind young volunteers that it was ultimately God they were serving.  There were altar server trips to Long Island Duck baseball games each summer and a new winter Altar Server Night featuring dodgeball, pizza and bingo in Canning Hall.

Whether he stood at your bedside in the hospital, attended sports events you competed in, or provided a compassionate listening ear in a time of need — he has been a good friend.

Our Catholic Daughters loved his joyful presence at their meetings and his celebration of many of their Monday night Masses.  No matter how late a meeting might go, he would be there until the end, visiting with as many members as possible.  During Catholic Daughter Baby Showers and Bake Sales at the end of Masses, Fr. Patrick was sure talk about their good works from the pulpit.

Holy Mother Mary Knights of Columbus will miss Fr. Patrick as a moderator as well.  Fr. Patrick was initiated through our council of the Knights, receiving his third degree.  He was also a presence at many Knight events - marching in the Memorial Day Parade, helping celebrate the Beach Mass, and attending various social evenings.

Students at St. Patrick School will miss his presence at so many school events.  Students in our religious education program will miss his classroom visits and tours of our church. Daily Mass participants will miss his tendency to stay in the back of church and talk after Mass.  If you ever had the occasion to help out Fr. Patrick in any way (no matter how small), you probably received a note in the mail thanking you.  (Dozens of altar servers contributed to his Christmas gift each year.  Each one received a personal note of thanks.)  If your picture was in the bulletin, he probably went out of his way to make sure you got an extra copy. We will miss that too.

Approachable, accepting, caring, encouraging, kind, compassionate, thoughtful, considerate . . . those are just a few of the adjectives you’ll hear people use in reference to Fr. Patrick. He is a loyal friend to many, as well as a loyal fan of the Mets and Jets. But ultimately, he is a devoted priest. He is quick to be at your side if you are sick or have lost someone you love.  If he ever visited your home, you got the feeling that he loved every minute of it.  He has always found the time to be fully present to the people he serves. You also got the feeling that he truly loves being a priest and we loved having him as our priest.

. . . . . ultimately, he is a devoted priest.  He is quick to be at your side if you are sick or have lost someone you love. If he ever visited your home, you got the feeling that he loved every minute of it. He has always found the time to be fully present to the people he serves.

From all of us at St. Patrick’s, thank you, Fr. Patrick, for a wonderful five years.  Our prayers and best wishes go with you to Port Jefferson.

- B.R.

St. Patrick School Students Honor Fr. Patrick

Students of St. Patrick  School honored Fr. Patrick during an assembly on Tuesday, June 6th (pictures below).  During the assembly, 8th grade student Patrick Farrell (pictured right) spoke about what Fr. Patrick has meant to students attending the school.  His speech is below:

Father Patrick, there are so many things to say about you that I can’t fit all of them into this paper.  I probably couldn’t even fit all of them into a novel, but I will try my best.  We are grateful to have you as a priest in our parish. Here are some of the reasons why we are so grateful.

One of the things we really appreciate is that almost every day, we find you outside greeting us with a high five or a fist bump.  It always brightens my day when I turn the corner and see you in your New York Mets jacket putting smiles on kid’s faces.  Another thing that is very nice of you is that you know all of our names.  You don’t need to do that but you do which makes us feel more of a friend to you.  Another thing you do is keep us close to God.  However, you don’t teach us about God in the usual boring way.  You teach us in a way that makes us comfortable learning about God.

In 8th grade, you did something with us that we will remember forever, Fr. Patrick Football.  In 7th grade, it was one of the things we looked forward to the most.  It was so nice of you to take time out of your day to host and play football games with us.

Another thing that you do for us is that you come to many of our sports games.  As soon as soccer, basketball, volleyball, or baseball season starts, you are the first one to ask us for the schedule.  You are always there to give us support and in baseball games you help us explain to our Moms what a double means.  After the games you always come up to us and say what a great game we had.  Whenever I start talking to you, the conversation always starts with a pound of the fist and ends up with talking about the Mets.  I think you are the biggest Mets fan I have ever met.  You are always there to talk to us about how the Mets demolished the Yankees last night.

Since your first year at St. Patrick Church, you have always touched our hearts and been there whenever we needed you. Even though you are leaving us soon, we will always remember the imprint you made on our lives and the life-long memories your presence gave us.  Father Patrick, you are more than a priest, you are a special, kind, and loving person who we will always remember in our hearts.  Thank you.

During this Year of the Priest, please remember to keep our priests in your prayers.  The Rockville Centre Apostolate of Prayer for Priests asks that you remember the following priests from our diocese in a special way in your prayers this week:

• June 21st - Rev. Martin Bancroft, Jr. & Rev. Benet Uwasomba
• June 22nd - Msgr. Francis Schneider & Rev. Paul Butler
• June 23rd - Msgr John Alesandro & Rev. Patrick Bonner
• June 24th - Rev. Nicholas Zientarski & Msgr. John Cervini
• June 25th - Rev. James Bowman & Rev. Christopher Cleary, CP
• June 26th - Rev. Cletus Nwaogwugwu & Rev. Marian Bicz
• June 27th - Bishop John C. Dunne

“Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, declared this Year for the Priest “precisely to encourage priests in this striving for spiritual perfection on which, above all, the effectiveness of their ministry depends . . .”

- Address of His Holiness announcing Year for Priests