Saint Francis of Assisi Parish

It may seem odd to “rate” a church but in this case I’m rating the response we received from the pastor of the St. Francis of Assisi Parish and not the actual church itself.

In December, exactly one week before Christmas, my wife and I suffered a terrible family loss. We needed to talk to a priest and hoped to bring some sense to this tragedy. We drove over to the St. Francis of Assisi Church but were told the priest was visiting someone who needed spiritual counseling. We left our name and number, then returned home and waited for him to call.

Several days went by and we again tried to contact the priest, this time through the church email system. And once again we heard nothing. Today is December 28th, we’ve made it through the worst Christmas of our lives and we still have not heard back from the priest at St. Francis of Assisi parish.

I was raised in the Catholic Church and was an altar boy for many years at our small parish in Lone Pine California. Our priest was Father Zeigward, a strict but caring man of Dutch descent. He was always available to help those who needed his guidance and I remember him with fondness.

If you’re looking for a Father Zeigward, St. Francis of Assisi is not the place to look.