PATRICK E. O’CONNOR
Long-time pastor Charles Bourque retires
BROOKSIDE—The Rev. Brendan P. Buckley became the new pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish last month. Monsignor Charles Bourque, pastor since 1980, has been granted senior priest/retirement status and will take up residence at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Canton. Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church is on Montebello Road.
Buckley has been a member of the Capuchin Franciscans since 1971. He is a graduate of St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. and completed his studies for the priesthood at Maryknoll School of Theology in Osining, N.Y. He was ordained a priest in 1981. Much of his career has been spent in New York City and Washington, DC. For the past two-and-a-half years, he served as parochial vicar at St. Mary of the Annunciation Parish in Cambridge and guardian of St. Benedict the Moor Friary in Roxbury. A part of his priestly formation was spending time in Central America learning the Spanish language and culture.
Our Lady of Lourdes Parish is amid a year-long celebration of the centennial of the parish. Next on the calendar is a Mass and a luncheon honoring senior citizens on Sat., Sept. 12 in the parish hall. A formal dinner-dance will take place on Sat., Oct. 25 at Moseley’s on the Charles. Tickets at $75 per person are on sale by calling the rectory at 524-0434. An installation Mass for the new pastor is planned for the fall.