Father's Reflection 3.19.23

Poland 2023

Friends, before attempting to break open how a recent pilgrimage to Poland has profoundly changed my life, it will be necessary to begin with how it came about in the first place. And his name is Tory Baucum. I met Tory a year ago, by chance, during Archbishop Naumann’s opening presentation on Communio. Communio is Archbishop Naumann’s dream for addressing the breakdown in marriage and family across the Archdiocese. So, who is Tory Baucum and why does Archbishop Naumann trust him so much? A recent convert to the Catholic Church, Tory has previously served as a pastor in the Anglican Church, seminary and university professor at Asbury, George Mason, and Virginia Theological Seminary for over 30 years. He has served in missions in Lima, Peru and Kigezi, Uganda. He was recognized in the Anglican Church as one of Canterbury Cathedral’s Six Preachers, and has recently been named to the Copernican Society in Poland. Friends, this is simply a long way of stating that he is quite simply one of the most extraordinary men the Lord has ever brought into my life. He is now teaching at Benedictine College, while serving as a consultant for the Archdiocese in the Communio Initiative. A position of Archbishop Naumann’s choosing. And this man, Tory Baucum, personally invited the pastor and faith formation office of Sacred Heart, St. James, and St. Augustine to Poland. And the experience profoundly changed our lives.

To be continued.