Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley has announced the appointment of Father George C. Hines as pastor of St. Mary Parish in Wrentham, he is presently the parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception Parish in Malden. His new appointment is effective May 1.

Perhaps not a better date could be chosen for Father Hines’ effective date of appointment than that of the memorial of St. Joseph the Worker. According to reports from Immaculate Conception he has been precisely an untiring worker since his arrival at the parish following his ordination by then-Archbishop O’Malley on May 22, 2004.

The pastor of his present parish, Father Richard Mehm who serves also as vicar of Vicariate IV of the North Region, is high in praise of his sole parochial vicar. “He will be greatly missed in Malden. He has really entered into the life of the parish and tried to do as much as he could to advance the mission of the Church here.” Nodding south towards Wrentham, Father Mehm said, “They don’t know how lucky they are.”

Father Hines hails from Reading where his parents, George and Rose, still live as does one of his two brothers. He has a brother who is presently on active duty with the United States Navy based out of San Diego, Calif.

A son of St. Athanasius Parish in Reading he attended local schools and upon high school graduation he enrolled at Ithaca College in neighboring New York, and graduated with a degree in political science and communications.

He diligently applied his academic work to responsibilities at Codman Associates, a major real estate firm in Boston. Following his years at Codman he entered archdiocesan seminaries and completed theological formation at St. John’s Seminary.

In a glowing tribute to his current pastor regarding his almost four years at Malden, Father Hines recently said, “I’ve learned everything I need to know about being a pastor.”

One of the lessons that Father Hines learned at Malden is the importance of involving the laity in all levels of the parish’s life. So the folks at St. Mary’s should be ready for invitations and responses.

In addition to being the memorial of St. Joseph the Worker, a happy coincidence is that Father Hines’ “birth as pastor” occurs on the same day as his 40th birthday. Join Wrentham in welcoming Father Hines and wishing him many years of generous service to St. Mary Parish.