Fr. Jon Thomas the Pastor of St. Monica Parish and St. Michael's Church since 2015 was unexpectedly transferred to another parish. The
Bishop appointed Fr. Kevin Mohan as the new Administrator of St. Monica Parish and St. Michael's Church. Attached is a bio of Fr. Mohan.
I wrote to Fr. Mohan today requesting a meeting to discuss how the SMCPS can work closely with him to fully utilize St. Michael's Church and Campus to serve the needs of the community. Below is my letter requesting a meeting. I will keep you updated on our meeting.
LETTER TO FR. MOHAN
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Fr. Mohan, let me first welcome you on behalf of the St. Michael's Church Preservation Society to your new assignment as the Administrator of St. Monica’s Parish. Joe Chialastri, a member of the SMCPS Board, was kind enough to give me your email address. I can
imagine the time it takes in adjusting to a new assignment, especially one as complex as this one. Thus I have waited until a few weeks ago
to send you several messages to request a meeting.
As the national coordinator of the St. Michael’s Church Preservation Society you and I are both- first and foremost- interested in the growth and development of our faith in Atlantic City. The SMCPS
believes that St. Michael's Church and campus has and always will be an important part of that effort. Over the past five years we have sponsored and promoted dozens of spiritual, social, and cultural
events for the Parish and the City. The intent of these is always to re-engage past members and attract new members with the ultimate intent to bring souls back to church and to strengthen St. Michael's Church and the Parish. We have donated money to the school, promoted St. Michael's on local radio shows, worked to support and re-invent the Wedding of the Sea Event, renovated a bathroom in the loft, and
contributed to renovation of the rectory for the Franciscan Sisters. We did this again to build- or rather to rebuild- the community's relationship with the once St. Michael's Parish- after many years of community atpathy. We now have excellent working relationships with many community groups namely the greater Atlantic City Chapter of
UNICO and Mary Help of Christians.
We would like to do more. We see new opportunities to help develop St. Michael's Loft and support Dante Hall. In addition there are many more ways to promote our faith among those who have left the church and with the new immigrants that now live in Atlantic City and around St. Michael's Church. We also hope to attract national support for what is an historically and culturally significant building and campus for Italian Americans. But to be sure we are most interested in fully utilizing St. Michael's Church on a regular basis as a great teaching
tool and a special sacred space modeled after 18th Century Italian Churches that provides individuals with a unique opportunity to get closer to God.
I look forward to talking with you about our partnership.
In Christ,
Bob Venafro
BIO OF Fr. Kevin Mohan
Fr. Kevin J. Mohan, Administrator
Fr. Mohan arrived in AC on 15 July 2020. Ordained a priest of the Diocese of Camden in 2013, he previously served at the parishes in Blackwood, Gloucester City, and Williamstown, and also at Gloucester Catholic High School. Originally from Blackwood, he has studied at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, Franciscan University of Steubenville, and St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore. In addition to leading the parish, he is also currently enrolled online in the Villlanova School of Business