The Rev. Ted Olson of St. Pius V Catholic church announced that he will be transferring to San Francisco Solano Church in Rancho Santa Margarita.
The church held farewell receptions after last week’s Saturday and Sunday masses where
parishioners of all ages gathered to enjoy refreshments and send their well wishes to their pastor.
The Rev. Ted Olson of St. Pius V Catholic church announced that he will be transferring to San Francisco Solano Church in Rancho Santa Margarita.
The church held farewell receptions after last week’s Saturday and Sunday masses where
parishioners of all ages gathered to enjoy refreshments and send their well wishes to their pastor.
“He has a discipline that is all his own and he has a way of making people understand what he wants to say in his own loving tender way,” said Efrain Gutierrez, catechist for the parish’s Faith Formation program. “He made me understand that we need to be in line with our church and not off on my own in a pastoral leading and nice way.”
St. Pius V is the sixth parish he has been a part of in his 43 years of being a priest and noticed the strong involvement the parishioners have in their faith community.
“[The parishioners’] generosity that way is definitely an affirmation of the fact that they know the church is theirs,” Olson said. “The parish will be celebrating its 70th anniversary in three years and it continues to grow because the people of the parish are the ones who carry on the many ministries.”
Although he is being transferred to a new parish, Olson plans to carry the memories and experience he gained at St. Pius V with him and wishes the best to all the parishioners.
“I’ve always enjoyed the opportunity to celebrate the Eucharist day by day and week by week and preaching that’s a great gift the Lord gives me that I think I’ve used well for the folks,” Olson said. “I hope that I can continue using that where I’m going and as [St. Pius V’s parishioners] are [spiritually] fed by the next set of priests, they will find God continuing to lead them along the path.”
As the church’s pastor, Olson oversaw all of the ministries, such as the parochial school, as well as the administration and maintenance staff and accounting.
“He’s a great pastor and a faithful one that is doing his job well. Everybody has gifts but he is very good about using all of his gifts,” said the Rev. Rey Marin, deacon. “As an administrator, he is very good. He got this parish out of the bad situations that were in before he came and he was very helpful in doing all of that.”
Marin first met Olson through his friends from Diaconate Formation, a program that those selected to be deacons must undergo before they get ordained. Olson became the pastor at St. Pius V the same year Marin was ordained and assigned there.
“The impression that he would probably give to someone is that he is shy and reserved but when he starts talking or if you start conversing with him, it would be an epiphany because he is so knowledgeable about anything and everything,” Marin said. “Give him time to warm up and you will be pleasantly surprised at what he has to offer you because he does offer anybody, everybody, every parish a lot of himself.”
Olson’s time at St. Pius V will officially come to an end in early July.
