Sacred Heart will say goodbye to pastor

The Tri-City area community will be saying goodbye to Sacred Heart Catholic Church’s pastor, the Rev. Gregory Fratt, as he moves on to another parish.

Fratt begins his new assignment at Sacred Heart Church in Cut Off July 1.

Fratt will celebrate 18 years of ordained ministry Monday. He was ordained June 13, 1998.

Fratt has served as pastor of Sacred Heart church for nine years in Morgan City, beginning in 2007.

He was surprised upon discovering his new assignment. He thought he was going to be at Sacred Heart 12 years, but his tenure ended at nine.

Although the assignment comes as a surprise, he acknowledges a higher power leading the direction of his work.

“I’ve been very blessed on this assignment,” Fratt said. “And I’m very much aware as I celebrate my anniversary I said yes to God. It was my yes that brought me here and now it’s my yes that takes me away.”

There are no typical days in the life of a priest.

“There are a lot of things set in my calendar …,” Fratt said. “But you never know what’s going to happen. You never know when someone is going to be in crisis, come to you. They’re getting a divorce. Their child died. Funerals come up and all. You encounter people a lot in crisis as a priest.”

He views his role as “a shepherding of caring for people, leading people,” Fratt said. “Very much a shepherd, trying to reconcile people.”

He said he’s likely to miss the sound of the train passing by three to four times a day.

“One of my favorite memories here was being able to do the Shrimp & Petroleum Festival Mass because that’s so special to this place,” Fratt said. “And probably the year I remember the most was when Al Adams was king of the festival. That was the year, I think, of the BP Oil Spill.

“I remember that very well. There were so many reporters that converged here in Morgan City. I remember standing and watching Al being interviewed by a guy from the Wall Street Journal. And Al handled it so beautifully. He really did.

“It’s like God chose him to be king that year to be able to respond to all of these reporters so well.”

The new assignment in Cut Off is only a return to the beginning of his ordained ministry.

“Well, I’m looking forward to being back with people I know because that was my first assignment,” Fratt said. “I was for 5½ years an associate pastor after my ordination.”

Both Sacred Heart parishes have a Spanish Mass, which is initially why Fratt was assigned to the Morgan City church. He speaks Spanish.

An Arizona native, Fratt traveled to Mexico City and lived with a family for four months at age 12. Family friends of his parents arranged the visit. He knew a little Spanish, but being immersed in the culture, his vocabulary grew by leaps and bounds.

“I learned it really quick because nobody spoke English,” Fratt said. “When you’re young, that’s the best time to learn a language. Of course, they taught me all the bad words first. All the kids, they just couldn’t wait to teach me the bad words.”

Fratt’s training continued throughout advanced classes in high school and a conversational literature course in college. His command of the language adds another adventure to his bucket list.

“There’s still a lot on my bucket list,” Fratt said. “I’ve done a lot of great things. One of the greatest things I have done is to go see the Holy Shroud of Turin in Italy with the image of Christ and his burial garment, which is one of the most powerful things I’ve ever done.

“I would love to be able to spend maybe six months in a Spanish-speaking country to really improve my Spanish and minister among Hispanics,” Fratt said.

Priests leaving a church after serving many years can be sad for the members. But he offers the congregation as parting words, “Rejoice always, again I say rejoice,” Fratt said.

As a priest, “the greatest joy is seeing someone moving closer to Christ,” Fratt said. “And if I have any little part in that happening, then that is a cause for great, great joy. Joy should be the hallmark of every Christian.”