Four diocesan priests to retire

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PROVIDENCE - Bishop Thomas J. Tobin has announced the retirement of the following pastors:

Father Lionel A. Blain, pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Woonsocket; Rev. Boguslaw T. Gibowski, pastor, St. Stanislaus Kostka, Woonsocket; Rev. John C. Halloran, pastor, St. Thomas More, Narragansett; and Rev. Charles P. Quinn, pastor, St. Eugene, Chepachet, effective July 1, 2007.

Father Lionel A. Blain, a native of Woonsocket, was educated there at Holy Family School and Our Lady of Providence Seminary High School and College in Warwick. He continued his studies at the Seminary of Philosophy in Montreal and the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Italy. He was ordained a priest by Bishop Aloisius Traglia on July 18, 1954, in Rome.

After his ordination, Father Blain began his priestly service as an assistant pastor at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul in Providence. He also served on the faculty at Our Lady of Providence Seminary, as pastor of St. John the Baptist, Pawtucket, and as administrator, St. Edward, Pawtucket.

Father Blain has been pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Woonsocket since 1983, ministering to more than 1,600 families.

Father John C. Halloran, a native of Providence, was educated there at Tyler School and Our Lady of Providence Seminary High School and College in Warwick. He continued his studies at St. Mary's Seminary and the American College, Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. Father Halloran was ordained a priest by Bishop Hornoius van Waeyenbergh on July 1, 1962, in Louvain.

After his ordination, Father Halloran began his priestly service as an assistant pastor of St. Matthew Parish in Cranston. He also served as assistant pastor of St. Thomas Parish, Providence; as teacher at Our Lady of Providence Seminary High School; as director of Tower Hill Camp, Peace Dale; as director of Vocations and House of Formation, Warwick and as pastor of St. Gregory the Great Parish in Warwick.

Father Halloran has been pastor of St. Thomas More Parish in Narragansett since 1997, ministering to more than 1,200 families.

Father Charles P. Quinn, a native of Providence, attended schools there at St. Michael's, LaSalle Academy and Our Lady of Providence Seminary College in Warwick. He continued his studies at the American College, Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. He was ordained a priest by Bishop Bernard M. Kelley on June 4, 1966, in the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul in Providence.

After being ordained in 1966, Father Quinn began his priestly service as an assistant pastor of St. Joseph's Parish in Central Falls. He also served as an assistant of St. Teresa's Parish, Providence, and St. Philip's Parish in Greenville. He spent five years serving as chaplain at Mt. St. Charles Academy in Woonsocket before serving as pastor of St. Raymond Parish in Providence and Holy Ghost Parish in Tiverton.

Father Quinn has been pastor of St. Eugene Parish in Chepachet since 1997, ministering to more than 900 families.

Father Boguslaw T. Gibowski, a native of Poland, received his education there and studied for the priesthood at the Seminary of Krakow-Skalka. He was ordained a priest by Bishop Jan Pietraszko on May 24, 1969, in Poland.

Father Gibowski served as a catechist in Poland before leaving for Argentina where he served as an assistant pastor in several parishes. He also served in parishes in Brazil, Texas and Missouri. Father Gibowski came to Rhode Island in 1987 and was appointed assistant pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Central Falls. He was incardinated into the Diocese of Providence on Feb. 14, 1992.

Father Gibowski has been pastor of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish since 1994 ministering to 304 families.

(This story originally published in The Providence Visitor)