MILTON -- It isn’t a big parish; it’s isn’t a burgeoning parish. But every day as Sheila Farley walks to her parish, St. Pius Tenth Parish in Milton, to open its doors she knows it is her parish.

“We don’t have a ton of things going on, but we definitely have all the basics,” she said with a smile.

According to Farley, the parish “is pretty much run by volunteers,” following the death of their longtime pastor, Father David Burke, two years ago. A core group of volunteers, numbering 20 or so, help keep the parish running smoothly, she said.

“When Father passed away, we were in limbo,” she said, unsure of the future of the parish. That all changed when Father Peter Nolan, CSSp, agreed to become the parish’s temporary administrator.

Farley praised Father Nolan, noting that as pastor of Most Precious Blood in Hyde Park, the added burden of serving as the parish administrator of St. Pius Tenth could have been daunting to some, “but not for Father.”

“He runs back and forth every day,” she said. “We are very grateful to him.”

On days when Father Nolan is not available to say the daily Mass, the parish often finds retired priests who can fill in the gap.

“We’ve been fortunate that we’ve never had a problem finding priests to help us,” she said.

Farley, 53, together with her husband of 32 years, Steve Farley, has called St. Pius Tenth home for the past 22 years. The couple raised their four children to know the importance of being active parishioners.

All four children are lectors and all have helped teach religious education through the years.

“They’ve always been involved,” she said proudly.

In addition to being the person who opens the parish every morning, Farley has been the Director of Religious Education for the past 10 years. She is also the parish Youth Minister and helps to coordinate the youth liturgies for the parish.

A daily communicant, Farley was born and raised in Hyde Park. She attended Most Precious Blood elementary school and was a parishioner there until shortly after their oldest child was born.

Reflecting on her upbringing, Farley believes that her faith has always been integral to her life.

“My faith means a lot to me,” she said. “I don’t think I’m somebody who is holy, holy; my faith has just always been a large part of my life.”

St. Pius Tenth Parish, Milton

Year established -- 1954

Administrator -- Father Peter Nolan, CSSp

Religious Education director -- Sheila Farley

Music Director -- Grace Greene

Organist -- David Jenkins

Youth Minister -- Sheila Farley