Diocese’s moderator of the curia finds joy in the beauty of making things balance
Just beyond what can be seen inside a beautiful church building are the things that help make it work.
Pipes, wires, ducts, structural elements — while these may not seem beautiful or uplifting unto themselves, even the most soaring of God’s edifices would cease to function properly without them.
In the structure of diocesan administration, many similarly mundane but necessary things have been entrusted to the oversight of Father Gregory Meystrik, the diocese’s moderator of the curia.
Bishop W. Shawn McKnight appointed him to the position in February.
“We are working together to bring the message of Christ to as many people in the most effective way we can,” said Fr. Meystrik. “Part of that involves some rather practical things — like insurance, bills, budgets and property-management.”
Church law, articulated in the Code of Canon Law, states that “a diocesan bishop must take care that all the affairs that belong to the administration of the whole diocese are duly coordinated and are ordered to attain more suitably the good of the portion of the people of God entrusted to him.” (Canon 473-1)
To help with that, the bishop can appoint a priest to serve as moderator of the curia, who under the bishop’s authority “is to coordinate those things which pertain to the treatment of administrative affairs and to take care that the other members of the curia properly fulfill the office entrusted to them.” (473-2)
Fr. Meystrik previously served since 2013 as the vicar for administration, overseeing the people who manage the diocese’s financial resources.
As moderator of the curia and as a member of Bishop McKnight’s cabinet, he will carry out several of the same functions as before, along with general oversight over several diocesan Chancery offices.
“One of my main jobs is to budget,” said Fr. Meystrik, “to receive from people in the curia their goals, what they want to do, and try to moderate that in terms of the resources we have available.”
Part of the big picture
Curia is a Latin word referring to the administrative apparatus of the Church.
The duties of the moderator of the curia in this diocese were previously combined with those of the vicar general.
Bishop McKnight, who was ordained and installed on Feb. 6, believes that for the diocese’s current needs, it’s better to separate the two positions. He likened the moderator of the curia’s role to that of a chief operating officer in a corporation.
Fr. Meystrik noted that the Church is not of this world but must function within it. Church employees must get paid on time, and their insurance and retirement plans must be managed properly.
“What I do is try to coordinate, try to help,” he said. “And I try to make sure we have some fun while we’re doing all of that.”
In anticipation of each budget cycle, he works with Deacon Joseph Braddock, the chief financial officer; the head of each Chancery department; the Diocesan Finance Council; and the staff of the diocese’s Finance Office.
Fr. Meystrik focuses more on the “big picture” in the budget process, while Deacon Braddock zeroes in on the more precise aspects.
Together, they work to present the diocese’s finances in a way that is clear, accurate, understandable and focused on ministry.
The bishop gives final approval to the budget.
Close to the heart
As part of the bishop’s cabinet, Fr. Meystrik also works with the Chancery department heads who coordinate Hispanic and Cross-Cultural ministries, youth and young-adult ministry, religious education, family life, and pro-life activities.
“I believe these things are very important to the Lord and His Church,” Fr. Meystrik said. “They are essential components of the New Evangelization and are close to the heart of what we’re all about.
“I’m not here to micromanage but to encourage and help put the bishop’s vision into practice and help it bear fruit,” he said. “I’m here to pass along the ‘attaboys’ and ‘attagirls’ to all the people who are doing a good job.
Outstanding balance
Born in St. Louis and raised in Jefferson City, Fr. Meystrik attended St. Joseph Cathedral School, the former St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Hannibal, Conception Seminary College in Conception and Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and master’s degrees in divinity and Scripture.
On June 9, 1990, in the Cathedral of St. Joseph, Bishop Michael F. McAuliffe (+1969-97, now deceased) ordained Fr. Meystrik to the Holy Priesthood.
Fr. Meystrik then served as associate pastor of Immaculate Conception parish and campus minister at Helias Catholic High School, both in Jefferson City; then as associate pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes in Columbia.
He was pastor of St. Joseph in Edina and St. Aloysius in Baring; then pastor of Immaculate Conception in Loose Creek and St. Louis of France in Bonnots Mill; then pastor of St. Stanislaus in Wardsville and sacramental minister of St. Margaret of Antioch in Osage Bend.
He then was pastor of St. Peter in Jefferson City and has been pastor of St. Francis Xavier in Taos since 2016.
Fr. Meystrik also gained experience in financial and diocesan matters, serving first on a committee that advised the bishop about priests’ salaries, then on the priests’ retirement board, then the diocesan fund board.
Fr. Meystrik noted that a certain percentage of the world’s population is believed to experience what’s called “mathematical pleasure.”
“I’m one of those people,” he said. “When things balance out and make sense and everything works out, it’s like, ‘Ah! That’s great! That’s wonderful!’”
He added that he doesn’t mind the work that it takes to get to that point.
“In fact, I kind of enjoy it,” he said.
Nor does he have a problem with attending numerous meetings.
“They’re often where you get to examine the details,” he said, “and people of the diocese can give us sound advice and good direction.”
An honor and privilege
Fr. Meystrik recognizes the spiritual aspect of helping take proper care of the diocese’s material resources, as they are used to support the ministries of the Church.
He noted that most people aren’t as interested in the “nuts and bolts” of diocesan administration as they are about things that are more local or direct-service-oriented.
“But they do like to know that what they make sacrifices to entrust to us is being taken care of and properly used for the good of God’s people,” he said.
As a priest, he loves knowing that he doesn’t have all the answers but can turn people toward the One Who does.
“I get to spend precious time with so many people,” he said. “Just to be able to be there to help them experience God’s mercy, God’s love, God’s grace is such a privilege.”
