Congratulations!

Congratulations!
We are delighted to inform you that Fr. Joseph A. Tedesco, who served as Pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows from 2003-2005, was elected the fifth Superior of Mepkin Abbey, a Trappist monastery located on the Cooper River outside of Moncks Corner, SC. Fr. Tedesco was ordained a priest of our Diocese in 1979 and ministered in various parishes and in various diocesan positions prior to entering the Mepkin community in March 2008. He made his solemn profession as a monk there on June 28, 2014. At Mepkin, Fr. Joe worked on the farm, cooked, supervised the kitchen, managed the Abbey Store and Reception Center, and directed the monks in temporary vows. Fr. Joe succeeded Abbot Stan Gumula as leader of the community on November 3. Because of age requirements, Fr. Joe could not be elected abbot.

Our parish, blessed to have been under Fr. Joe’s leadership all too briefly, offers Fr. Joe congratulations and prayerful best wishes that the Lord will sustain him as he assumes this new and important responsibility!

Mepkin Abbey, founded in 1949, is part of the Roman Catholic Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, commonly known as Trappists. Currently, 17 men are members of the monastery. They follow the Rule of St. Benedict, spending their days in prayer, work, and spiritual readings, and welcoming visitors all year long.