Mary Mother of Mercy Parish honored its retiring pastor, our brother Br. Bernard Maloney, at its annual feast day and picnic on Sunday, Aug. 30.

At 84, Brother Bernard was the oldest pastor in the Diocese of Rochester, N.Y. Mary Mother of Mercy Parish has three churches between Cayuga and Seneca Lakes: St. Francis Solanus, Interlaken; Holy Cross, Ovid; and St. James the Apostle, Trumansburg. The parish is 40 miles long and 12 miles wide, with 370 registered households. Brother Bernard served in the area for 12 years. Succeeding him as pastor is Br. Robert Lasrado.

The feast day celebration, the picnic, and Brother Bernard’s retirement recognition took place at the boathouse of St. Fidelis Friary on Cayuga Lake in Interlaken. It was a grand gathering.

Click here for photos from the celebration.

Brother Bernard celebrated 65 years of religious life as a Capuchin Franciscan on Aug. 31.