FALL RIVER − Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., has announced changes in assignments for three priests in the Fall River Diocese.

Father Craig A. Pregana, now the pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in New Bedford, has been appointed pastor of St. John the Evangelist and St. Vincent de Paul Parishes in Attleboro. The two parishes are linked as the Roman Catholic Community of Attleboro and operate under one administration.

Father Gerard A. Hebert has been appointed pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish to succeed Father Pregana. Father Hebert currently serves as a co-pastor of Annunciation of the Lord Parish and St. Andrew the Apostle Parish, both in Taunton.

At the same time, Father German Correa Agudelo will join Father Hebert at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish as parochial vicar. He is now serving in that same capacity in the parishes of the Roman Catholic Community of Attleboro.

All of these appointments become effective March 18, 2020.

A new assignment has not yet been announced for Father Dariusz Kalinowski, who last month informed Bishop da Cunha of his intent to resign from pastoral leadership of the Attleboro parishes when a successor could be named to replace him.

Father Pregana will return to a familiar place with his new pastorate. In 1989, he began his priestly ministry at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Attleboro as a parochial vicar for six years after already one year there as a deacon prior to his ordination. Later, he was also at the parish for a short time as a temporary administrator.

Among his other assignments, Father Pregana directed the diocesan mission in Guaimaca, Honduras, for eight years, returning in 2012 when he began as pastor at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish. Fluent in Spanish, he will be able to celebrate the weekly Mass in that language offered on Sundays at St. Vincent de Paul Church and to provide pastoral care to the Spanish-speaking members of the community.

Father Hebert was ordained to the priesthood in 1981. He served as a parochial vicar in several parishes and became a pastor in 1996 at St. George Parish in Westport. Other pastorates followed through the years at St. Anthony Parish, East Falmouth, and St. Jude the Apostle Parish, Taunton. Last year, he began his current post as co-pastor of the two Taunton parishes that make up the Taunton Parishes South Collaborative.

Father German is a priest of the Archdiocese of Medellín in his native Columbia. With the approval of his archdiocese, he has been serving in the Fall River Diocese since 2006, ministering to Spanish-speaking Catholics. He has at different times served in parishes in New Bedford, Fall River, and Attleboro.

In another change for the Attleboro area, the Roman Catholic Community of Attleboro announced in its bulletin this past weekend (Feb. 29-March 1) that Bishop da Cunha has made arrangements for the weekly Mass celebrated in Portuguese to resume at St. Vincent de Paul Church, beginning Sunday, March 8th, at 9 a.m. This Mass is being returned on a trial basis to provide time to measure the level of interest and participation in it over successive weeks. Once Father Pregana is in place as pastor, he will help to determine the sustainability of the Portuguese Sunday Mass on a permanent basis.

Bishop da Cunha expressed his gratitude to Father Flavio Gillio and Father Francisco Tchipindo of the Missionaries of Our Lady of LaSalette of Attleboro who have agreed with their approval of their community’s provincial to share the responsibility of celebrating the Mass in Portuguese each week.

The Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., D.D.
The Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., D.D.
The Bishop of Fall River