METHUEN -- On May 19, Vicar General Bishop Mark W. O'Connell did something that he hasn't done in 25 years: mow a lawn with a push mower.

"I didn't have the same strength I had as a 20-year-old," he said, "but I could do it in straight lines."

Bishop O'Connell wielded the mower for a special occasion: The Archdiocese of Boston's 17th annual Service Week. On the morning of May 19, the bishop and about 20 other volunteers worked to beautify St. Theresa Church, part of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Methuen. Volunteers from the archdiocese got rid of brush, trimmed bushes, planted flowers, and picked up trash.

"This parish had very little trash, because they keep it in good shape that way," Bishop O'Connell said.

The volunteers were scheduled to work at St. Theresa on May 19 and 20, then at St. James Parish and St. John the Baptist Parish in Haverhill on May 21 and 22.

Service Week began in 2008 with 35 volunteers. It is now an annual tradition where workers from the Archdiocese of Boston's Pastoral Center in Braintree do spring cleaning and maintenance at local churches.

"I think it's important because it shows the beauty of everything that we do, everything that we attempt to do, to bring into the world," said the archdiocese's Assistant Building Manager, Austin Wilkinson. "It shows that everyone's dedicated to their own cause to help out each other and be part of something bigger than themselves."

"They appreciate seeing who we are at the Pastoral Center and getting to know the people and showing that we care," said Executive Director of Parish Services Denise Biernat.

Bishop Cristiano Barbosa helped trim bushes and plant flowers in front of the parish office.

"This is the mission of the church, to bring beauty into the world," he said. "So bringing a little beauty to the place, helping in the beautiful mission they have as the church to evangelize, to bring people closer to Jesus."

Father Gregory Vozzo, pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel, said he was "surprised and delighted" to hear that the archdiocese would be volunteering at his parish for Service Week.

"I already feel a strong connection with the central ministries of the archdiocese from all that they do, but I know that they care very much about the parishes," he said.

He said the parish has a small staff responsible for maintaining six buildings.

"We've been working on trying to reduce that workload a little bit, make this a lot easier to maintain," he said. "But we also want to have a very beautiful place that people know is Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, and will find it very welcoming and attractive."

He noted that 2025 is the 25th anniversary of the parish's founding.

"I think this fits very nicely right into that story," he said.