Welcome and welcome back!
Want to sign up as members of the parish? You can register online here or print the form here.
Maybe you have been away from the Church for a little while or for quite some time, but now you feel our Lord’s calling you back to the Catholic Church. That’s wonderful! We’ve missed you, and our Church is not the same without you. A good first step would be to consider discussing any concerns or questions you may have about returning home with a priest, and to receive the Sacrament of confession. Please, begin coming to Mass again and experiencing Christ’s presence through worshipping in the Liturgy. The Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church are also there to help you on your journey home, as are our abundant Parish ministries. Know that you are not alone, and do not be afraid to find answers to your questions. We are all here for you.
If you are new, it takes time to get to know the Parish community and to allow them to get to know you. Our website will help you learn more about all we offer!
A message from our Pastor, Father Richard Mowery
Hi! I am Fr. Rick Mowery and I want to tell you a little about myself. I became your Pastor in June of 2021 and I truly love being here. I am originally from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Mechanicsburg, PA. Before becoming a priest, I served 5 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, 5 years in the Navy Seabees, and 7.5 years in the PA Army National Guard. While I was in the Reserves, I was also an HVAC technician. While in the Army National Guard, I served in Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. While in the desert of Iraq, I had a lot of time to think. I had nowhere to hide, nowhere to run from excuses, and that’s when I started to really turn to God in prayer and fall in love with Him.
When I returned from Iraq, I was invited to make a Cursillo Weekend. That’s when I started to realize that God’s love is unconditional, and it changed my life. To my surprise, I began to feel a calling to the priesthood! In 2008, I entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, and I was ordained to the Priesthood in the Diocese of Harrisburg by Bishop Ronald Gainer on June 4, 2016.
My first assignment was Parochial Vicar at Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Harrisburg; I then came to Bloomsburg where I served as Campus Minister at Bloomsburg University and Administrator of Christ the King Mission in Benton; from there I served as Pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Enola; and then I was blessed to become Pastor of St. Columba.
People sometimes ask me what I do in my spare time. My parents (pictured at my ordination, right) still live in Mechanicsburg and I visit them as much as I can. I like to mention them in my homilies when they visit our parish at St. Columba. My brother, his wife, and four children live in Virginia. Besides visiting with my family, I enjoy hunting, fishing, hiking and other outdoors activities. I also like to cook, bake, and share my creations with others.
Being a Pastor is an awesome responsibility, exciting and challenging. As our staff and many of you know, I am sometimes a bit “quirky,” but I am also very passionate about our faith and love being your Pastor. I am also an introvert with dyslexia, so it’s sometimes difficult for me to put my thoughts into words, so please be patient with me if I seem to be struggling to connect with you. I am truly invested in doing my very best to lead this wonderful parish to a closer relationship with Christ Jesus and to personally get to know you all!
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim…. What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. John 2: 5-7,11
Get to Know Our Parochial Vicar, Father Aaron Lynch
Father Aaron Lynch is a native of St. Patrick Parish in Carlisle. His calling to the priesthood began as a series of dispersed moments throughout middle school and high school which led to his entering the Seminary at St. Charles Borromoeo at age 18. He has described discernment of vocation as the “training our own hearts to be obedient to the pull of God’s will for your life.”
“One of the first steps in discernment is noticing what you are attracted to and what you find beautiful,” he says. He was assisted in his discernment by prayer and the practice of Ignatian spirituality, which he described as “discernment of your emotions, of what’s going on inside you. It’s a good spirituality for someone in discernment. A big part of it is the understanding that everything that happens around you, God is aware of. There isn’t anything outside of His plan,” he explains. “Just thinking about the priestly life – what a priest is and what he does – was so beautiful to me every time I thought of it that I didn’t want to miss out on that life. God wouldn’t put that great desire and great attraction to that beauty in me if it wasn’t for some purpose.”
Fr. Lynch was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Ronald Gainer for Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg on June 5, 2021. After his ordination, he served as a Parochial Vicar at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Gettysburg, Chaplain to Gettysburg College, and later at St. Francis of Assisi and the Cathedral Parish of Saint Patrick in Harrisburg. He has served as Chaplain at Bloomsburg University and Parochial Vicar at Saint Columba Parish, Bloomsburg and Christ the King Mission, Benton, since June, 2025.
In his spare time, Father Lynch enjoys movies, music, reading, board games, and spending time with his brother priests (especially when he gets to cook).
