By By Matthew Nascone
The annual conference between the Arch Bishop of the Mobile Catholic diocese and the personnel council involved a change in every Catholic church in the diocese.
Rev. Jan A. Zagorski, of St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church in Atmore, will be taking over as the full-time pastor of St. Agatha's Catholic Church in Bay Minette as of this week.
"I am going to miss the spirit and generosity of the people here," Zagorski said. "Their generosity and want to share the gospel with others is great."
Zagorski had been the pastor of both St. Robert Bellarmine and St. Agatha's since 2004 and he has been in Atmore since 2002. He is also in charge of the prison ministry in Atmore for Holman Correctional Facility, Fountain Correctional Facility, J.O. Davis and the Atmore Work Station. He will remain in charge of the prison ministry.
Zagorski said shifting within the Catholic Church is something that occurs whenever the needs of the church change. And that is why the Arch Bishop meets with the personnel council once a year.
In the past one priest was designated the pastor of the church and the other priests were simply priests. Zagorski said now, with the shortage of men entering priesthood, there is only one priest per church in the Mobile diocese.
Leaving Atmore as the pastor of St. Robert Bellarmine will not prevent Zagorski from returning to visit with the friends he made during his stay in the town, he said.
"I will definitely be back in town because I have friends there and I will only be 19 miles down the road," Zagorski said.
Rev. Gordon Milsted will be the new pastor at St. Robert Bellarmine beginning with mass on Sunday. The church is holding a welcome dinner for Milsted directly following the 11 a.m. mass.
Milsted comes to Atmore from Fair Hope, where he was the pastor of St. Lawrence. He is originally from Pensacola.