The GodFather
My husband and I hear Mass at nearby St. Francis Xavier Church (as some people pronounce it, "X-a-vyer"). Fr. Russell Roide, S.J., was the pastor there for many years. A few weeks ago, he was reassigned to California.

Fr. Roide is a tall White man with grey hair. He is popular with the parishioners. How popular is he? You have to queue to chat with him after Mass. Kinda reminds me of Marlon Brando in "The Godfather".

A week before my two ultrasound (sonomammogram and transvaginal) checks and two weeks before my laparoscopy procedure, I decided to ask for Fr. Roide's blessing and prayers after Mass. He was standing outside the church, conversing with only two parishioners. Not wanting to be caught in an awkward position of waiting for their conversation to end, I lingered, then walked away. I changed my mind just a few meters away and went back, determined to seek his blessing. By then, the line was already long! Wow, that was fast. I stood at the very end. A minute later, there were several people behind me. I must have waited for about 10 minutes before it was my turn to have a quick chat with him.

I was amazed with Fr. Roide's popularity. I told my husband about it (he was unable to hear Mass due to body aches ... old age, man!) and said that Fr. Roide had a lot of fans. I said it was so funny because people were actually patiently waiting in line, just to have a word with him. "Groupies, and you're one of them", Joey said, knowing how fond I was of Fr. Roide, too.

Of course, we heard Mass again the following Sunday. Joey saw for himself that what I said was true -- the line of people wanting to speak with Fr. Roide went on and on ...

On July 23, Joey and I shook hands with Fr. Roide after his final Mass at St. Francis Xavier Church. He thanked us for the goodbye card we sent earlier, and for the lovely photo we shared. Joey was very much impressed with his charm, personal touch, and sharp memory -- he knew that we sent him a card, not a letter; and that our photo was enclosed. No wonder everybody liked Fr. Roide!