The following letter will appear as an insert in this Sunday's bulletin here at Holy Redeemer Parish:
Dear parishioners of Holy Redeemer –
A few weeks ago Fr. Joe announced that I would be leaving Holy Redeemer this summer for a new assignment. As many of you have been interested in what I will be doing, I thought I would take this opportunity to explain my plans for the future.
In July I will return to the University of Notre Dame to prepare for graduate studies in American history. I will spend a year there working in the Cushwa Center, which is an institute dedicated to the study of American Catholic history. As best I can, I will assist in hosting regular academic conferences and producing a quarterly newsletter. Meanwhile, I will be taking graduate level history courses and spending a good bit of time investigating and applying to PhD programs.
God willing, the following July I will leave Notre Dame to begin doctoral studies in American history. At this point I don’t know where this will be – that’s a big part of what I will spend next year figuring out. I only know that although Notre Dame has a wonderful program in American Catholic history, I will pursue my doctorate elsewhere, as I already have two degrees from Notre Dame.
As you can imagine, the community’s hope in encouraging me to further studies is that I will one day contribute to our higher education apostolates as a professor. I have long felt called to this particular ministry of ours and I am grateful to my superiors and brothers for supporting my interest in this field.
The Church in this country has a rich and impressive history and I will be honored to help preserve our forebears’ story for future generations. As a priest-professor, I also hope I might encourage young people to contribute to the American experiment by being first and foremost faithful Catholics.
Before I leave this summer, I know I will have other opportunities to express my deep gratitude to all of you for the important role you have played in my formation for priesthood and now my life as a priest. So, for now, let me simply say that I am very excited about the opportunities that lie ahead, but I will also be sad to leave all of my friends here at Holy Redeemer.
Asking God’s continued blessings upon you and your families, I am sincerely,
Rev. Stephen M. Koeth, C.S.C.
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