BURRILLVILLE – The pastor of three long-standing religious institutions in town will be transferred to a church in Greenville effective July 1, with a new leader coming to serve the Burrillville Catholic community.
Father Jose Parathanal, C.M.I. will become the new pastor of Our Lady of Good Help Parish, St. Theresa Shrine and St. Patrick’s Church, according to an announcement this week. He will replace Fr. Michael McMahon, who has served as pastor of St. Theresa Shrine and OLGH since 2015, adding St. Patrick’s after the three churches officially merged under the banner of the Burrillville Catholic Collaborative last year.
Paranthal is a member of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate from Kerala, India, and is currently in residence at St. Thomas More in Narragansett. In addition to his duties at the parish, Parathanal is a canon lawyer and serves as a judge on the Diocesan Marriage Tribunal.
Prior to his arrival to the Diocese of Providence in 2020, the new Burrillville pastor served at parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York.
McMahon will move to Greenville, to lead St. Philip’s parish and school.
It is the latest change for three Catholic churches in town that have gradually united to share resources over the last several years.
St. Theresa’s is home of the historically significant Shrine of the Little Flower, the first of its kind in the United States dedicated to St. Theresa, and the only place of pilgrimage in Rhode Island that has received official recognition by the Roman Catholic Church. The shrine officially merged with OLGH in 2019, adding St. Patrick’s to the collaborative in 2021.
Shrine Coordinator and Events Director Silvia Aldridge noted that Deacon Richard LaPierre will continue as administrator at Harrisville’s St. Patrick’s.
