San Antonio Aggregation Welcomes 42 Members
By Dr. Billy (William) Stewart, ABS Leader – San Antonio
With great joy, during the 11:00 AM Mass at Downtown Saint Joseph on the Solemnity Day of Saint Peter Julian Eymard (Sunday, August 2, 2026), the San Antonio Aggregation of the Blessed Sacrament (ABS) added 42 new members with their Promise Commitment Ceremony. Father Arul Tharcius SSS, pastor of Downtown Saint Joseph, gave an enlightening sermon on Saint Eymard and encouraged the new members in their calling as modern-day “disciples of the Eucharist.”
New Pastor in New York City
Église Saint Jean Baptiste is our mother church for the Province of Saint Ann, and has administered this historic parish on the Upper East Side of New York City since 1900. After a total of 25 years as pastor, Father John Kamas SSS retired and became “pastor emeritus,” and Bishop Edmund Whalen installed our provincial, Father John Thomas Lane SSS, as the nineteenth pastor. Guests for the celebration, mostly ABS members, came from the Archdioceses of Galveston-Houston, the Diocese of Cleveland, the Diocese of Portland, Maine, and Saint Petersburg, as well as Fathers Paul Raj Gnanasekar, Joseph Kiet Nguyen, and Francisco Junior Marques SSS. A friend of the NY SSS community, Benedictine Mark Dilone, and lifelong friend Dominican Scott Steinkerchner also joined in the concelebration.
Photos: LEFT – The CNDs (the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame) and Pastoral Staff are presented to Father Lane as part of the rite of installation as pastor; RIGHT – Later that night, guests and Pastoral Staff members gathered on the roof for a pizza party!
