Many villagers in Parchal had the opportunity to attend a ceremony that saw the elevation of their community church from a vicariate - a church ministered to by a vicar – to a parish all of its own.
The Christian community of Parchal in Lagoa gathered on Wednesday, August 15, at a ceremony presided over by the Bishop of the Algarve himself, D. Manuel Quintas.
The Bishop easily decided to elevate the Parchal community’s Church, which until yesterday had come under then vicariate of St. Francis of Assisi do Parchal, created on October 4, 2001.
This Christian administrative upgrade has been made possible as Parchal has managed to buck the trend in Church attendance and now boasts a strong Christian community, helped by a boom in the number of locals to a current 4,000.
This event at Parchal Church brought many people together and also acted as a celebration of the 50th year since the parish priest, Domingos Fernandes, was ordained.
The Bishop also presided over the Eucharist in the parish of Vila do Bispo where Father José Chula has taken over from Father Nuno Coelho who has been the parish priest since September 2016, serving previously from September 2013 to August 2014.
Father Nuno Coelho and Father Tiago Veríssimo also took office as parish vicars of those parishes.
Manuel Quintas explained that the three priests will be parish vicars in each other's parishes, seeking to foster "mutual support in the pastoral service to their respective parishes."
The prelate recalled that Father José Chula will begin to serve these parishes with a new responsibility but with the same sense of service.
After the homily, the new pastor renewed his priestly promises and at the end of the celebration said that he was there to continue serving all those who needed his help.
