By Gerry Brodnitzki

When I was asked to write an article about our new priest at Immaculate Conception R.C. Church, I realized how much I still had to learn about him. Father Edwin advised me to write what I knew. And so, this is what I know.
At the end of December 2006, Friar Victor Incardona announced from the pulpit that he needed to have two shoulder replacements which would entail a very long recovery. It was decided that he should be given ample time to heal and another priest, from St. Joseph’s Church in Canaan, would be taking his place in January 2007.

On the morning of January 7, I walked into the church sacristy and introduced myself as the Sunday Church organist to a smiling young, bearded, Franciscan priest who didn’t have a gray hair on his head! I didn’t tell him my last name, since it is troublesome for most people. Our conversation concentrated on the music. The time went too quickly as others also managed to come into the sacristy to introduce themselves. Since this was the weekend of the Epiphany, near the end of Mass, Fr. Edwin said he had a gift for all of us. In his clear and distinctive tenor voice he proceeded to sing the “Hail Mary” in biblical Greek. He had learned this when he spent a few years in the Holy Land.

The next time I saw Fr. Edwin he greeted me, “Good morning, Mrs. Gerry Brodnitzki.” My mouth dropped in surprise. Before the end of the month he had a good handle on many of us and our names; no easy feat considering he is in charge of two parishes.

What strikes many of us parishioners is Fr. Edwin’s great love for people, his devotion to Our Blessed Mother, his total devotion to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, his willingness to serve us 24/7, his joyous and reverent manner at Mass and his heartfelt homilies. His love for bringing people back to Christ through the Sacrament of Reconciliation is almost palpable. At one children’s Mass he had children act out the forgiveness we receive at reconciliation right on the altar. Young Adam Green played the role of the priest. It was marvelous!

In his brief tenure here in Norfolk, he has already arranged for Fr. Bill McCarthy, MSA, of “My Father’s House,” a Catholic retreat center in Moodus, Ct., to conduct a four day Lenten Mission at our sister church. Fr. Edwin also arranged for Dubliner, Olive Dawson, to speak at our parish on March 7. Olive Dawson is a Catholic who has taken no food or drink since 1999 except for Holy Communion once a day. From Fr. Edwin’s “Pastor’s Desk” in our Sunday bulletin: “How rare is it for the NW Catholic corner of CT. to meet a living saint who subsists solely on the Eucharist?” The Eucharist is a thin wafer of bread which we Catholics believe becomes the Body of Christ (the Bread of Life) by the words of a priest during Mass. Transubstantiation is the theological term. When full-figured Olive Dawson spoke to us one thing she said made us all laugh: “As you can see, I’m not fading away!”

When I asked some of our parishioners if I could quote them for this article, I heard:

“I just think he’s great.” “I hope he stays here forever.” “I think he’s very kind.” “He’s making a big difference. More people are attending Church.” “He really welcomes us. You can’t help being drawn to him.” I was with Fr. Edwin as he instructed altar servers Thomas Casey, Alysia Travaglini and Thaylia Byrne. When I spoke about this article Thaylia said to tell people “He’s a really good priest.”

Fr. Edwin makes you feel special when he speaks with you. You know he wants the best spiritual life possible for all of us. You know he wants to get people more involved and spread the “Good News.” You know he is eager to promote the youth ministry program especially after he saw Patrick Nelligan and Becky Bruey making such good pizzas at Klauer Hall after the Lenten Stations of the Cross recently. Fr. Edwin is also encouraging as many teenagers as possible (grades 8-12) to attend a potentially life-changing spiritual retreat “Steubenville East” in Attleboro, Mass. this July and he is looking into Youth Work Camps for this summer.

To sum this up, I now know a little more about Fr. Edwin.  His roots are in Atlanta, Georgia; he was born June 16, 1971, which makes him 35, and his surname, Paniagua means “bread and water.” The rest of his story will just have to unfold, as the Bible tells us, “in the fullness of time.”