St. Edward’s welcomes new priest

Father Richard Ley (pronounced Lee) is the new priest at St. Edward the Martyr Catholic Church in Sisters. Father Ley has come to Oregon from St. Agnes Church in Arlington, Virginia, and is replacing Father James Logan who left St. Edward’s to work full time at the Chancery office in Bend.

Father Ley became a Catholic when he was 15 years old. After graduating from high school, he worked for a year in the naval shipyard in his hometown of Portsmouth, Virginia; he then attended St. Mary Seminary in Kentucky where he graduated in 1967.

He received his Theology Formation at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD. Father Ley was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Richmond, VA on May 15, 1971 and celebrated his 35th anniversary in the priesthood last month.

He became a priest of the Diocese of Arlington in August of 1974 when the new diocese of Arlington was created. At this same time he worked in the Chancery for 12 years, and during that period he studied Canon Law at the Catholic University of America.

Father Ley has been the pastor of four parishes, one of which was approximately the same size as St. Edward’s; the other three parishes were considerably larger.

Father Ley has two younger brothers, Philip and James, both of whom currently live in Florida. However, his youngest brother James, his wife, and their two children will be moving to the Sisters area in the next month.

When his younger brother and family made the decision to move from Florida to Oregon, Father Ley approached his Bishop and asked for permission to explore the possibility of coming to the Diocese of Baker in Oregon. His Bishop graciously agreed and Father Ley was able to come to Bend last February.

He spent four days here in Central Oregon with Bishop Vasa of the Diocese of Baker. During that visit Father Ley also had the opportunity to meet with Father Logan and was able to make his first visit to the St. Edward’s Parish in Sisters.

Bishop Vasa of the Diocese of Baker has assigned Father Ley as Administrator of St. Edward’s Parish rather than as Pastor. This position charges Father Ley with overseeing the parish to insure that parish functions run smoothly and that the spiritual and temporal needs of the parish are fulfilled.

However, while serving as Administrator Father Ley will not be empowered to initiate any major innovations. After a period of time, likely about six months, Bishop Vasa and Father Ley will both assess his interaction with the parish and, if positive in both assessments, the Bishop will likely appoint Father Ley as Pastor of St. Edward the Martyr Parish.

As Father Ley has training in Canon Law, Bishop Vasa has additionally asked Father Ley to assist Father Logan in the Chancery and participate in the Tribunal two days a week.

Father Ley enjoys horseback riding, bicycling and hiking. He has already fallen in love with Central Oregon and is looking forward to becoming an integral and active part of the Sisters community.