After the glorious celebration of Easter, it can be easy to forget that we are now in an entire Easter season to celebrate our salvation through the Resurrection of Jesus. It’s a time of new life in our souls and in our Church that coincides with new life in our world, as nature reawakens from its winter slumber and transforms into the beauty of spring.
This particular year, I also celebrate new beginnings for both Catholic Charities and yours truly. I will step down on July 1 as president and CEO of this amazing agency, and I am thrilled to share that we have hired a wonderful new leader in Jim Malloy.
Jim is a local boy from St. Bernadette’s and St. John the Baptist parishes in Silver Spring, Maryland. He’s also a graduate of St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis who went on to a distinguished 36-year career in the Navy and retired as a vice admiral. Most of his time he was stationed elsewhere, but he retains his strong roots and commitment to this area he calls home.
Jim started working part-time for Catholic Charities on May 1, and he will continue onboarding over the next two months. I will spend most of my time introducing him to our amazing staff in our 32 locations and to many of our supporters at simple breakfasts, lunches and small gatherings. I will also introduce him to council members in the District and surrounding counties, whom he will work closely with to make sure the local jurisdictions receive the services they need for those who are most vulnerable and looking for assistance.
I am very, very pleased with Jim’s hiring. The search process took more than a year. We received in excess of 100 applications, and our search firm spoke to more than 150 people conducting interviews and checking references. Jim received unanimous support from the search committee, our board and Cardinal Wilton Gregory, who made the appointment in late March.
I am excited for the future of Catholic Charities. We have a new leader who can bring a springtime of hope and joy to the agency. We have a spectacular staff whose passion is unmatched. We have donors who continue to contribute and sacrifice on behalf of those in need. And we are respected for doing God’s work in the places it is most needed here in the Washington area.
It has been a spectacular blessing to help lead this great agency for the last 12 years, and I am not going far away, as I promised to help Jim in the transition. I will likely work with the mission effectiveness committee of our board to help us stay centered as best we can on the important elements of our faith while working with the poor. I’m sure I will also be asked to help with development and fundraising.
I look forward to this new springtime for the agency and for me as I step back from years of long days and intense efforts on behalf of those in need. It was worth every second of it. I am beyond pleased at the number of people we have served and the ways in which we helped them. I know Catholic Charities will continue to do the best we can to be God’s instruments of peace, joy and service for others.
As I look ahead to this new phase of my priesthood, I have been thinking more and more about how God is in charge of all we do. We sometimes forget that in the busyness of our days, but I see God’s hand clearly in all I have done these last five decades, and I must continue trying to see God’s hand in all I will be called to do. God has never failed me, and I know he won’t now.
That is my prayer for all of us this Easter season. May we recognize God’s will, God’s way and God’s call in all we do. And may we do our best in all things big and small to let God’s presence, God’s life and God’s love shine forth through us.
(Msgr. John Enzler, the president and CEO of Catholic Charities of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, writes the “Faith in Action” column for the archdiocese’s Catholic Standard newspaper and website and for the archdiocese’s Spanish-language El Pregonero newspaper and website.)
