The Rewards And Challenges Of Serving The St Rose Parish Keep Coming

By Kaaren Valenta

For Parochial Vicars John Inserra and Milan Dimic, and youth minister Rodd Blessey, serving the more than 3,000 families of St Rose of Lima Parish is a rewarding and challenging job that is never done.

The trio assumed their new positions at St Rose during the past six months, each coming from backgrounds that offered no clues that they would wind up serving in one of the Bridgeport diocese’s largest parishes. But the departure of the Rev Larry Larson and Rev Peter Towsley for new assignments last summer brought a new staff to St Rose to assist its pastor, the Rev Robert Weiss.

Each of the newcomers came to their positions from widely varying backgrounds.

Father Dimic, 45, was only 14 when he entered a seminary in Slovenia, an eastern European country of two million that until 1991 was part of the republic of Yugoslavia. He was born into a family of four children, three boys and a girl.

 “My father, my oldest brother, and my sister are already deceased,” he said. “My mother lives in a small apartment in the city of Brezice and my brother lives with his family in a nearby city, Krsko.”

After elementary school, Father Dimic entered a Salesian Minor Seminary in Zelimlje near Ljubljana. After novitiate and high school graduation, he entered a Salesian seminary in Ljubljana and completed philosophy studies in the Faculty of Theology in Ljubljana.

“Because of the Communist ruling of the country, I had to serve a military service in Macedonia and Kosovo for 15 months,” he said. “I wasn’t treated very well because I wanted to be a priest. But afterwards I studied theology in Turin, Italy, at the Universita Pontificia Salesiana.”

After his ordination to the priesthood in 1985, he worked in various locations in Slovenia for seven years. During that time he learned from a friend that the bishop of the diocese of Bridgeport was looking for a priest to serve in a predominately Slovenian parish in Fairfield County. He applied and was accepted. In August 1992 he was assigned to Holy Cross Parish in Fairfield. Five years later, he was incardinated into the Diocese of Bridgeport, making him a permanent member of the diocese. He began serving at St Rose last summer, on the 18th anniversary of his ordination.

Father Inserra, 41, came to the priesthood after first exploring a career in computers. Born the ninth child of 11 in a Catholic family in New Rochelle, N.Y., he was educated in the public schools there and did not attend a Catholic school until he went to Iona College, a school founded by the Christian Brothers 60 years ago in New Rochelle.

“Being from a large family, my parents could not pay for us to go to college, so we had to pay our own way through college,” Father Inserra said. As a result, it took him 11 years to work his way through college and get a bachelor’s degree in computer applications, graduating cum laude.

“I worked a variety of jobs during the years that I was in school, but finally finished by taking out loans,” he said. “My degree trained me to be a systems analyst. After graduating from college, I worked at White Plains Hospital.”

During that time he had begun to think about becoming a priest, although no other members of his family were in the religious life.

“My father was a social worker before he retired,” Father Inserra said. “All of my brothers were altar boys, but I was not. I was the youngest boy and I just wasn’t into doing that at the time.”

He explored the possibility of priesthood with the diocese in New York, then moved to Connecticut in April 1994 to take a job with Branson Ultrasonics Corporation in Danbury. But he could not ignore the voice that told him he had a religious calling.

“In 1996 I told my pastor that I wanted to become a priest,” Father Inserra said. “He told me to contact the St John Fisher Residence in Stamford, which is a house of discernment. In August of 1997, I entered and spent two years there, receiving 27 credits in philosophy studies.”

After that, Father Inserra went to St John’s Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y., for a year, then to Blessed John XXIII National Seminary to finish his master of divinity degree. He was ordained to the priesthood last May, and then assigned to St Rose parish.

New Youth Minister

Rodd Blessey, 30, never anticipated that he would become so involved with the church. A native of Brookfield, he earned a degree in international relations at the University of Delaware, returned to work in the family business, and got married.

“After [my wife] Kelly and I moved to Newtown, we started attending St Rose. Kelly started teaching CCD. Father Peter was a new priest at St Rose and he asked if anyone would be willing to help him with the youth groups.”

That someone turned out to be Rodd Blessey. He worked with Father Peter for three years, then when Father Peter was transferred to Brookfield last summer, Mr Blessey became St Rose’s new part-time youth minister.

“I’m fortunate that I have a very supportive family,” he said. “I work at Aldine Metal Products, a precision sheet metal fabrication company in Brookfield that my grandfather started in 1938. When I decided that I wanted to become the youth minister, I asked my father and my brother if we could work it out, and they agreed.

“But my wife is absolutely the best. She’s awesome,” he said. “She was the one who encouraged me to get involved. She asked me what was I going to do to become a part of the parish?”

Under Father Peter’s encouragement, the youth groups quickly grew.

“We have phenomenal numbers,” Mr Blessey said. “The senior [high school] youth group meets once a week on a Sunday night. We get 50 kids that come together as one family. There are usually 30 to 40 kids who come to the seventh and eighth grade youth group. This is incredible because these kids are still going to Confirmation classes. So this is a completely voluntary extra thing that they are doing. And there are about 90 kids in the fifth and sixth grade group. This is something really positive, really special that we have going on here.

“Father Peter set up a very good progression, so these kids are not dropping out,” Mr Blessey said. “Unfortunately once Catholic kids get confirmed, they usually are gone. In this parish, they are not gone. And that’s great because there are a lot of challenges that face the youth in this community. These kids know they can turn to God and their parish.”

Rodd Blessey said his life changed significantly when he became involved in the parish and he continues to find it to be a great blessing, especially now that his wife has been diagnosed with breast cancer. A third grade teacher in Redding, Kelly Blessey is expecting the couple’s second child, a son, in three months. They have a daughter, Cailin, 2.

“Kelly had a mastectomy two weeks ago,” Rodd Blessey said. “They plan to deliver the baby early, at eight months, then start chemotherapy. Fortunately the cancer has not spread. The prayers and support that we are getting from the parish though all of this are incredible.”

Last week Rodd Blessey was scheduled to attend his first NO SUDS (Newtown Organization to Stop Underage Drinking Soon) meeting. “Father Peter was a member and I will be a clergy representative,” he said.

Mr Blessey said Father Weiss and Bishop William Lori are excellent role models for the youth at St Rose and have encouraged him to continue formal training in his faith. He will begin a training program at St Cyril in Bridgeport soon.

“I feel God has given me a great gift to be a little part in the lives of these youth, bringing them closer to God,” he said. “We are doing well, but we could do better. I’m always wondering about the kids who aren’t with us, the kids that are struggling. I want to invite them to come with us on the journey.”