November 5, 2021

2021 Vocations Awareness Supplement

A Day in the Life of a Parish Priest

Click on the image above to see photos from a day in the life of Father Matthew Tucci.

Click on the image above to see photos from a day in the life of Father Matthew Tucci.

By Natalie Hoefer

JEFFERSONVILLE—We are a pilgrim people, always on the move toward our destination of heaven.

Our priests are there to shepherd and guide us, in particular our parish priests. In fulfilling that role, they too are on the move—every day, a lot.

To get a feel for what a day in the life of an archdiocesan parish priest looks like, The Criterion shadowed Father Matthew Tucci for a day on Sept. 29.

As pastor of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and St. Augustine parishes, both in Jeffersonville, and as the new associate archdiocesan director of vocations for the New Albany Deanery, his day was full, lasting as it often does from 4 a.m. until about 8-8:30 p.m.

The journey included prayer time, a workout, a staff meeting, a funeral and burial, a visit to Sacred Heart School in Jeffersonville, Mass at a private Catholic academy, adoration and confession followed by a parish Mass, and ended with dinner at the home of a family of parishioners.

“Today was a pretty busy day,” admitted Father Tucci, 34, before heading to dinner. “But some days are busier, and some days are not as busy. You just never know what the Lord’s going to throw at you! But it’s what you do when you really love your parishioners.”

And it’s what you do when you really love your vocation.

“I love being a priest. I do,” said Father Tucci. “It’s something different every day. You give your life for Christ, and you go where the Spirit takes you. When you do an examen at the end of the day, there’s a different reason every day to be thankful for being a priest.”
 

(For more information on vocations to the priesthood in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, call the archdiocesan Vocations Office at 317-236-1490 or go to HearGodsCall.com.) †

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