From the Catholic Week

By ROB HERBST
The Catholic Week
MOBILE – Fr. Victor Ingalls has spent the past seven years building a culture of vocations in the Archdiocese of Mobile. Now he’ll build a culture of inclusion.
Fr. Ingalls, who has served as the archdiocese’s vocation director, has been appointed by Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi as the archdiocese’s first executive director for Multicultural Ministry, effective June 14. The newly-created department will oversee the Office of Hispanic Ministry, which is currently under the Department of Catholic Education. Fr. Ingalls will also focus on other multicultural issues.
“We’re blessed to have a lot of diversity and different ethnicities, cultures and races in the archdiocese,” Fr. Ingalls said. “But we’re all one body in Christ (and we’ll) look for ways where we can all be at the table when it comes to church life, when it comes to other ministries.”
In creating the department, Archbishop Rodi said “It has long been my desire to foster further inclusion in the life of the Church among every group in our archdiocese. This new ministry will be entrusted to Fr. Ingalls. I know that he has a heart for this and shares my desire to build unity.”
Fr. Patrick Gilbreath will succeed Fr. Ingalls as vocation director, effective June 24. Fr. Gilbreath was ordained to the priesthood in 2019 and has served as parochial vicar of Holy Spirit Parish in Montgomery the past four years.
Along with being executive director for Multicultural Ministry, Fr. Ingalls will also serve as pastor of five parishes/missions – Our Lady of Sorrows Mission in Fairford, Our Mother of Mercy Parish in Mobile, Prince of Peace Parish in Mobile, St. Francis Xavier Parish in Mobile and St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Chastang.
While overseeing five parishes and missions may be challenging, it’s not unprecedented in the Archdiocese of Mobile. According to Archbishop Rodi, the five parishes and missions will also have two parochial vicars – Rev. Augustin Iruthayasamy, I.V. Dei, and a parochial vicar to be announced at a later date when another round of priest assignments are announced.
Heading multicultural ministry efforts is an opportunity Fr. Ingalls looks forward to and he said he’s always appreciated the diversity of the Catholic Church.
“I’ve always loved the Catholic aspect of our Catholic faith, the fact that it’s universal,” Fr. Ingalls said. “I have loved the diversity that’s within that. I was blessed to be able to study in Rome for four years and meet people from all over the world who share our faith. That’s an aspect of the faith that I’ve always enjoyed.”
Serving as vocation director has also prepared him for this role, Fr. Ingalls said. He’s traveled to every corner of the archdiocese and has seen the diversity first-hand.
During his time as vocation director, he’s also helped form ENIGMA – a discernment retreat for young Black Catholic men – and the Hombres por Cristo y para Cristo discernment retreat for young Hispanic men.
Fr. Ingalls is fluent in Spanish and will be pastor of five predominantly African-American parishes and missions, but the newly-created office will minister to all cultures within the archdiocese.
Said Fr. Ingalls: “This includes everyone. We’re blessed in our archdiocese to have Vietnamense and Korean and Filipino populations. There was a Catholic writer who said about Catholicism one time ‘when it comes to Catholics, here comes everybody.’”