Parishioners at Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Bourbonnais received word about their new
Maternity BVM Parish in Bourbonnais, IL
pastor on Sunday, and his name was familiar. Fr. Jason Nesbit, CSV, will assume the role beginning July 1, after serving as assistant pastor for the last seven years.
“I am very thankful and very blessed to have been assigned to Maternity BVM Church,” Fr. Nesbit said, “and am doubly blessed to be able to remain in this community.”
Since arriving at the parish, Fr. Jason has been involved in a variety of sacramental ministries as well as working with young people in the parish, leading them to the Viatorian Youth Congress as their delegation leader multiple times.
Fr. Jason has worked in vocations for the Viatorians, and served as an ambassador from the parish while working closely with other religious communities in the area. He also has contributed to the parish’s social media presence.
Fr. Jason Nesbit prepares to say Mass at the Viatorian Youth Congress in 2015
In assuming the role of pastor, Fr. Jason becomes the pastoral leader of the parish, which includes more than 2,000 families in the Bourbonnais and Kankakee communities. He will work in collaboration with Bishop Daniel Conlon of the Joliet Diocese, who approved his appointment.
His predecessor, Fr. Richard Pighinin, CSV, who has led the parish since 2004, will remain in residence through September. Fr. Jason credited Fr. Pighini as a mentor in his ministry, leading him to this point.
Fr. Richard Pighini and first communicants in 2015
“I have seen first hand that he really shared his gifts and talents and put his heart into serving as pastor of Maternity BVM Church,” Fr. Jason said. “He is a generous man with a generous spirit – and we will indeed miss him.”
Fr. Jason’s appointment is an important one in the Viatorian Community, as Fr. Jason takes over the Viatorians’ first parish in the United States — considered to be cradle of the community — dating back to when they arrived, in 1865.