Ogdensburg - Bishop Terry R. LaValley announced changes in assignments for 13 priests of the Diocese of Ogdensburg after a May 3 meeting of the Committee on Assignments. Among the announcements were retirements for three of the clergymen:  Father Andrew J. Amyot, pastor in Norfolk and Raymondville; Father William G. Muench, pastor in Ticonderoga and Crown Point; and Father Stephen Gratto, pastor in Port Leyden and Lyons Falls. The changes are effective June 29.

Along with the clergy transfers, two changes in parish configurations were announced. St. Mary’s in Constableville with its mission in West Leyden will be linked with St. Martin’s in Port Leyden and its mission in Lyons Falls and thus be served by one pastor. Also, St. Mary’s of the Lake in Cumberland Head will become an oratory, connected to St. John’s Church in Plattsburgh. (Oratories are former parishes which have been dissolved. The church site no longer offers the regular celebration of the Eucharist but parishioners of that parish may be buried there and a special Mass may be celebrated on that church’s name day.)

Clergy changes
The list of clergy changes follows:

• Father Philip T. Allen, currently temporary administrator of St. Martin’s Church in Port Leyden and its mission of St. John’s Church in Lyons Falls, has been named administrator of St. Mary’s Church in Indian Lake with its mission of St. Paul’s Church in Blue Mountain Lake.




•Father William G. Muench, pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Ticonderoga and Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Crown Point, will be retiring.

• Father Andrew J. Amyot, pastor of Church of the Visitation in Norfolk with its mission of St. Raymond’s Parish in Raymondville, will be retiring.

• Father Andrew R. Mulvaney, pastor of St. Paul’s Church in Black River and St. Rita’s Church in Deferiet, will be taking a leave of absence due to health.

•Father Stephen H. Gratto, pastor of St. Martin’s Church in Port Leyden and its mission of St. John’s Church in Lyons Falls, will be retiring due to health.





• Msgr. John R. Murphy has been named administrator of Church of the Visitation in Norfolk with its mission of St. Raymond’s Parish in Raymondville.  Msgr. Murphy will continue his assignment in the chancery as Moderator of the Curia.




•Father Lawrence E. Marullo, currently pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Constableville and St. Mary’s Nativity Church in West Leyden, also will become pastor of St. Martin’s Church in Port Leyden and its mission of St. John’s Church in Lyons Falls when the two become linked.




•Father Garvin J. Demarais, administrator of Our Lady of Victory Church in Plattsburgh and St. Mary’s of the Lake Church in Cumberland Head, has been named administrator of St. Paul’s Church in Black River and St. Rita’s Church in Deferiet.




• Father Sony G. Pulickal, currently pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Indian Lake with its mission of St. Paul’s Church in Blue Mountain Lake, has been named pastor of St. Ann’s Church in Wells and St. James Major Church in Lake Pleasant.




• Father William G. Reamer has been named pastor of Our Lady of Victory Church in Plattsburgh.  Father Reamer will continue with his duties as chaplain at CVPH Hospital in Plattsburgh.





• Father John M. Demo, currently special parochial vicar of the Malone Catholic Parishes in Malone, has been named administrator of the Catholic Community of St. Philip of Jesus and St. Joseph in Willsboro and Essex while the current pastor, Rev. Joseph W. Elliott is on leave.




• Father Shane M. Lynch, pastor of St. Ann’s Church in Wells and St. James Major Church in Lake Pleasant, has been named pastor of St. Bartholomew’s Church in Old Forge and St. Anthony of Padua Church in Inlet and Raquette Lake.




• Father Kevin D. McEwan, currently pastor of St. Bartholomew’s Church in Old Forge and St. Anthony of Padua Church in Inlet and Raquette Lake, has been named pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Ticonderoga and Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Crown Point.

New pastors
The North Country Catholic will publish features about the retiring priests in upcoming issues; profiles of the new pastors follow:

Fr. Marullo
Father Lawrence E. Marullo, new pastor in Port Leyden and Lyons Falls, will continue to serve as pastor in West Leyden and Constableville, a position he has held since 2002. Previously he was pastor in Old Forge from 1992.
Father Marullo was born Jan 11, 1946 in Auburn and began studies for the priesthood at Becket Hall, the college seminary for the Diocese of Syracuse.  He completed studies at the St. Bernard’s  in  Rochester and was ordained for the Diocese of Ogdensburg May 3, 1975 by Bishop Brzana.

Father Marullo served as assistant pastor at St. Mary’s in Massena, in Peru, St. Joseph’s in Malone, Notre Dame in Ogdensburg, St. Patrick’s in Watertown and St. Peter’s in Lowville. He was an administrator in Chazy and pastor in Star Lake where he also served as chaplain at the Wanakena campus.  He had been pastor in AuSable Forks until his assignment in Old Forge.

Fr. Pulickal
Father Pulickal, new pastor in Wells and Lake Pleasant, is a native of India. He was born June 17, 1956 in Kerpla, India, and completed his priestly studies in Bancalore, India.

Father Pulickal was ordained April 14, 1983 and was named was parochial vicar of St. Mary’s Metropolitan Church in Changanachery, Kekala. In 1984, after studying Italian, he became parochial vicar of St. Ambrose Church in Segratte, Milan, Italy, and later served as parochial vicar of Immaculate Heart of Mary Basilica, Rome, Italy.
He returned to India for one year where he was in charge of philosophy students, and then from 1991 to 1994, in charge of Theology Study House in Shilong, India.

Father Pulickal came to the United States in 1996 and has served the Diocese of Ogdensburg as parochial vicar at Sacred Heart Church in Massena, St. Peter’s Church, Lowville, and also served at St. Augustine’s Church, Peru.
In 2001, he was named pastor in West Leyden and Fish Creek and, in 2004, pastor in Indian Lake and Blue Mountain Lake, his current assignment.

Father Pulickal was incardinated into the Diocese of Ogdensburg on July 23, 2003.

Fr. Reamer
Father Reamer, new pastor of Our Lady of Victory in Plattsburgh, will continue his services as chaplain for CVPH, Plattsburgh, a position he has held since 2000

A native of Elizabeth, NJ, he was born Dec. 2, 1946.  After graduating from St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkhill, NY and Plattsburgh State University, he taught for 13 years at Hillsdale (NJ) Public School. He studied for the priesthood at Christ the King Seminary and was ordained for the Diocese of Ogdensburg Oct. 10, 1987 by Bishop Brzana.

Father Reamer has served as parochial vicar of St. Patrick’s in Watertown, Notre Dame in Malone and in Peru, Lowville and Ticonderoga. Father Reamer has also served the diocese as bishop’s secretary and assistant chancellor and was an administrator of Our Lady of Victory in Plattsburgh, in Indian Lake and at St. John’s in Plattsburgh. In 1998 he was named half-time parochial vicar at St. John’s in Plattsburgh and half-time chaplain at CVPH. Two years later he became a full-time chaplain at the hospital.

Fr. Lynch
Father Lynch, new pastor in Old Forge, Inlet and Raquette Lake, has served in Wells and Lake Pleasant since 2007, first as administrator and then, in 2008, as pastor.

He was born Sept. 21, 1971 in Watertown and is a 1990 graduate of Immaculate Heart Central School.  He graduated from Wadhams Hall and St. John’s Seminary School of Theology in Boston. Father Lynch also completed a spirituality year program sponsored by St. Charles Borremeo Seminary in Allentown, Pa. He was ordained by Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito May 12, 2001.

Father Lynch has served as parochial vicar in Saranac Lake and Lake Clear, at Notre Dame in Malone, at the Malone Catholic Parishes and at Holy Family in Watertown.  He was also a temporary administrator in Croghan.

Fr. McEwan
Father McEwan, new pastor in Ticonderoga and Crown Point, has served as pastor in Old Forge, Inlet and Raquette for the past year. Previously, he was the administrator in Morristown, Hammond and Rossie from 2008.

A native of Yorktown Heights, NY, Father McEwan was born Aug. 17, 1964. He graduated from Paul Smiths College before studying for the priesthood at Wadhams Hall and Christ the King Seminary. He was ordained May 11, 2002 by Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito.

He served as parochial vicar in Saranac Lake and Bloomingdale as well as at Sacred Heart in Massena and in Louisville