Territories of the three vicariates are being developed
Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski has announced the establishment of three vicariates, a grouping of parishes within the Archdiocese defined by geographic region to provide parish support and administration. A vicariate is a common structure within the Church and has been implemented in other dioceses around the world. Implementation of the plan will take effect in July.
The three vicariates — a Northern Vicariate, a Southern Vicariate and a Western Vicariate — will be mostly equal in the number of Catholic households. Each will be overseen by a priest appointed as episcopal vicar, a full-time role, and will foster fraternity among the priests, develop regional cooperation and coordinate with archdiocesan ministries. Episcopal vicars and their vicariates are:
• Western Vicariate: Father John Brockland, currently pastor of Sts. Joachim and Ann in St. Charles;
• Northern Vicariate: Father Scott Jones, currently pastor of Sts. Teresa and Bridget in north St. Louis;
• Southern Vicariate: Father Michael Lydon, currently pastor of Sacred Heart in Troy.
Father Carl Scheble, currently pastor of St. Gertrude in Krakow and St. Ann in Clover Bottom, also has been named vicar general and moderator of the curia. The three episcopal vicars will coordinate with him as part of their new roles.
Each vicariate will have a team to provide local pastoral and administrative support. The team will include a vicariate coordinator and could include coordinators of Hispanic ministry, evangelization, faith formation, youth ministry, social outreach and more, depending on the needs of each vicariate. They also will include liaisons for human resources, Catholic education and finance.
Maps of the vicariates, and which parishes they will include, are being developed. By establishing the vicariates, the archbishop said he hopes priests will find greater access to resources and support structures and ultimately help their parish ministries flourish.
“I remain grateful for all the feedback I have received from so many of our faith-filled Catholics who love their priests, their parishes and their Catholic faith,” Archbishop Rozanski said in a statement. “I’ve also heard from and listened to our dedicated priests. One of the strongest messages I received from many of them is their desire for putting pastoral services closer to the people and parishes they serve.”
Each vicariate also will include two deaneries. The role of the vicariate is to provide support and resources to the parishes it serves. The role of the deanery is considered a smaller geographical group for collaboration and support.
The archdiocese is in the process of establishing positions for each vicariate. Open positions will be posted in the future at archstl.org/human-resources/employment-opportunities.
Episcopal vicars
Father John Brockland, pastor of Sts. Joachim and Ann Parish in St. Charles, was ordained for the Archdiocese of St. Louis in 1991. He attended St. Louis Preparatory Seminary-North high school and the University of Missouri-St. Louis before entering seminary formation at Cardinal Glennon College and Kenrick School of Theology. He later earned a licentiate in canon law from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome.
Father Brockland served as an associate pastor at St. Joan of Arc in St. Louis and at St. Martin de Porres in Hazelwood before being assigned to post-graduate studies. Upon completion of the licentiate, he served on the Metropolitan Tribunal of the archdiocese as adjutant judicial vicar and as part-time associate pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes in University City.
In 2000, he became administrator at St. Bartholomew in Hazelwood and was named pastor there the following year. As dean of the Northeast County Deanery, he oversaw a restructuring of parishes in the deanery which came to completion in 2005. He was then assigned residence at Mary Queen of Peace in Webster Groves while continuing to serve on the Metropolitan Tribunal in the role of defender of the bond. In 2007, he was appointed pastor of Sts. Joachim and Ann Parish. While pastor there, he has also served as a collegiate judge on the Tribunal of Second Instance for the Province of St. Louis and then as judicial vicar of that same tribunal, an office he will continue to hold along with his duties as episcopal vicar.
Father Scott Jones, pastor of Sts. Teresa and Bridget Parish in St. Louis, is a native of Kahoka, Missouri, and was ordained with the Society of the Divine Savior (Salvatorians) in 2004 in Wisconsin. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and religion, communication and theatre arts from the University of Northern Iowa, a master’s in Church history from the University of Northern Iowa and a doctorate in Church history from the University of Arkansas. He also holds an M.Div. from the Franciscan School of Theology and a Doctor of Ministry degree from the University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Mundelein.
In 2015, he came to the Archdiocese of St. Louis, where he served as associate pastor at Sacred Heart Parish in Valley Park and as a spiritual director at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. In 2017, he was incardinated into the Archdiocese of St. Louis. He served as parochial administrator, then pastor of Immaculate Conception in Arnold, and in 2020 became pastor at Sts. Teresa and Bridget. He also has served as dean of the North City Deanery.
Father Michael Lydon, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Troy, was ordained for the Archdiocese of St. Louis in 1984. He attended De Smet Jesuit High School, the University of Kansas and University of Missouri-St. Louis and Kenrick Seminary. He earned a master of arts in spirituality from Kenrick Seminary.
He was an associate pastor at Immacolata in Richmond Heights, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in Oakville and Our Lady of Sorrows in St. Louis. He taught at Bishop DuBourg High School from 1987-95, before being named pastor at St. Pius V Parish in St. Louis in 1995.
After 11 years there, he served as vice president for faith formation at Bishop DuBourg High School from 2006-2013 and president at Bishop DuBourg from 2013-19. During that time, he had residence at St. Dominic Savio in Affton, which later became part of St. John Paul II Parish. He was named pastor at Sacred Heart in Troy in 2019.
Vicar general
Father Carl Scheble, pastor of St. Gertrude in Krakow and St. Ann in Clover Bottom, was ordained for the Archdiocese of St. Louis in 1983. He attended St. Louis Preparatory Seminary-North, Cardinal Glennon College and the North American College in Rome.
Father Scheble was an associate pastor at St. Matthias in Lemay and Holy Rosary in St. Louis. He was pastor of Visitation Parish in St. Louis, and later was named in 1994 as pastor of St. Elizabeth Mother of John the Baptist in St. Louis, which was the consolidation of the former Most Holy Rosary and St. Engelbert parishes. He also was administrator at the former Most Blessed Sacrament Parish in St. Louis.
In 2005, he became pastor of St. Dismas in Florissant, which later that year joined with several other Florissant parishes to become St. Rose Philippine Duchesne. He remained pastor there until 2011, when he was named pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes in University City. He also was pastor at St. John the Baptist in St. Louis until 2019, when he was named pastor of St. Gertrude in Krakow and St. Ann in Clover Bottom.
