“There was despair, but nobody said it”: A Story from the Netherlands
When Bishop Jan Liesen first arrived in Breda, many parish leaders were quietly calculating how many years they had left. Today, they are…
Leading from the Heart of Jesus
The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. For priests, this feast is more than a devotion; it is a reminder of the Shepherd to whom they have been configured and whose love they are called to make visible. In the heart of Jesus, we see…
Raising Missionary Disciples: A Story from Toulouse
When Fr. Antoine Laviale encountered Divine Renovation as a seminarian, it changed how he saw the priesthood—and what a parish could become. Today in Toulouse, he’s forming young people into missionary disciples through Alpha, raising up leaders, and sending them out to share the Gospel…
Our Lady of the Assumption: A Parish Rediscovering its Mission
On the outskirts of Liverpool, the Parish of Our Lady of the Assumption has been serving its community since the 1940’s. Like many parishes, it carries…
One Common Mission: A Story from the USA
Father Martin Vu was still in the seminary when he first picked up Divine Renovation: Bringing Your Parish from Maintenance to Mission. At the time, it stirred something in him. He didn’t just want to maintain a parish someday—he wanted to see people encounter Jesus personally and come alive in their faith.
As a parochial vicar (assistant priest), he began experimenting with renewal in small but intentional ways—forming leadership with Spanish-speaking parishioners, focusing on evangelization, and participating in group coaching. When he was appointed Administrator of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Placentia in July 2024, that vision moved from theory to reality.
When Father Martin first arrived, average Sunday Mass attendance was around 2,100. Today, it is closer to 2,500. On the surface, St. Joseph appeared stable and even strong. But the parish had just endured a season of deep disruption.
Welcoming our new CEO
Divine Renovation is grateful to welcome Brett Powell as our new Chief Executive Officer.
This appointment follows a season of careful discernment, prayer, and consultation. Throughout the search process, we were accompanied by the prayers of our staff, board, and partners around the world.
We are deeply thankful for that spiritual support.
At Home, On Mission: A Letter from the USA
“There’s no weekend where someone doesn’t tell me, ‘Father, this parish is so welcoming; we felt at home here. What’s your secret?’” Father Rich says. The secret is not really a secret at all; rather, it’s the fruit of almost a decade’s worth of hard work, prayer, and – of course – dependence on the Holy Spirit.
In 2016, Christ the King Parish was ripe for renovation. It was only a few years after Sacred Heart, Saint Peter, and St. John the Evangelist parishes were combined into Christ the King Parish. Hoping to invigorate the churchgoers and to unify them into one parish, Father Rich and others on staff read “Divine Renovation: Bringing your Parish from Maintenance to Mission” by Father James Mallon.
The book, which centres on Father James’s own experience as a parish priest in Nova Scotia, Canada, details his journey into renewal, “renovating” his own parish, and discovering what “going on mission” really means.
Bishop Rene Ramirez RCJ: A Heart Remade for Mission – A Story of Parish Renewal
A little over a decade ago Bishop Rene Ramirez, a priest with the Rogationists of the Heart of Jesus priest (RCJ), had never served as a parish priest. Listen as he shares his conversion of heart for evangelization and the process of leading parish renewal in his previous parish, Holy Family Parish – Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne, Australia.
“I Walked Out Free”: A Story from Canada
St. Joseph’s in Vanderhoof, Canada, is a small rural parish comprised of approximately 75 families. The community’s economy is supported by logging and farming.
Parish Priest, Fr. Pier, wears a lot of hats to keep things going. But when a parishioner gave him the book, “Divine Renovation: Bringing Your Parish from Maintenance to Mission,” he was struck by its call to mission. He built a small team of volunteer lay leaders – because there was no money to hire any staff. He starting leading from a team and using a tool called Alpha that helps share the faith in a clear and simple way. They started small: a few parishioners praying by name for people in their lives who didn’t know Jesus. They ran Alpha, personally invited friends – anyone. They were nervous no one would come.
And then something happened.
People showed up.
Father Mykhailo: Parish Renewal at Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral
Father Mykhailo Ozorovych has had a fire for evangelization since childhood. An Eastern Rite priest, Father Mykhailo never thought he would end up in North America, let alone be the youngest parish priest of a cathedral. He says, “I came here to evangelize, to be a missionary.”
