NORTH PALM BEACH | St. Clare Parish marked multiple milestones during a liturgy with Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito on Aug. 11. The North Palm Beach faith community celebrated the installation of Father Nick Zrallack as pastor at the 11:30 a.m. Mass on the feast of the parish’s patron, St. Clare of Assisi, which is also Father Zrallack’s birthday.
“Father Nick wanted very much, and I was so happy to be able to accommodate, to celebrate his installation on the very feast day of St. Clare, your patronal feast,” the bishop said during his homily.
Father Zrallack, whose parents and other family members attended the Mass, was ordained a priest in 2020 and served at St. Helen Parish in Vero Beach before being named last year as parochial administrator of St. Clare.
“In the past year, you’ve come to know Father Nick,” Bishop Barbarito said, “and you know what a loving, what a kind, what a hard-working, intelligent, spiritual priest that he is. A great blessing to our diocese and a great blessing to St. Clare’s Parish.”
He added that it’s the role of Father Zrallack and all priests “to bring people together so that all of us, all of us together, build up the family which is the church and the family which is St. Clare’s Parish. Each one of us has a role in the church, and we celebrate those roles today.”
Calling to mind the current U.S. presidential campaign, the bishop said it’s obvious that Americans are looking for leadership: people who can unite the populace, providing meaning, purpose and hope to their lives. But they need look no further than Jesus Christ.
“He’s the one that has come to save us. He’s the one who has come to feed us with his body and his blood and his teaching,” Bishop Barbarito said.
To begin the pastor installation ceremony, Rachel Polak, principal of St. Clare School, read Bishop Barbarito’s letter appointing Father Zrallack as St. Clare’s pastor. The bishop acknowledged members of the parish staff and finance council and advised Father Zrallack to be open to their assistance.
After leading the congregation in the profession of faith, the new pastor agreed to submit himself to God’s word and the bishop’s authority, follow the church’s teaching on faith and morals, and adhere to the wisdom of the pope and the church’s magisterium.
“My brother, today we celebrate your call to the priestly service of Jesus Christ as pastor of the parish under the patronage of St. Clare on her very feast day,” Bishop Barbarito read as part of the installation rite. “As pastor of this parish, you are a fellow worker of the bishop, ever faithful in working with the order of bishops, so that the words of the Gospel may reach the ends of the earth ...”
At the conclusion of the liturgy, Father Zrallack reflected on the parish family of St. Clare and “our shared mission to get each other to heaven. Sometimes pushing, sometimes pulling, no matter how, getting ourselves there.”
He expressed gratitude for Bishop Barbarito and Father Kevin Nelson, who assisted the bishop at the Mass, along with the lectors, musicians, ushers, and members of the parish and school staff and finance council.
“Thank you to each one of you, the members of the family of St. Clare. Thank you for continuing to help lead me by your example and by your gracious will, to allow me to be here, to be who I am and to accept that,” he said. “So, just a gentle and humble thank you to each one of you and that God may continue to bless us on our journey.”
To Father Zrallack’s surprise, the congregation sang “Happy Birthday” to him before the recessional hymn. A reception was held afterward in the parish center.
For more information about St. Clare Parish and School, visit www.stclarechurch.net or www.stclareschool.com and follow on social media.
