Three priests of the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata, a religious community nicknamed the “flying squadron” in recognition of its ability to meet the needs of bishops throughout the world, have recently arrived to staff two parishes in the diocese.

With the approval of Stigmatine Provincial Father Gregory J. Hoppough and Superior General Andrea Meschi, Stigmatine Fathers Giancarlo Mittempergher, Antonio Luis Medeiros and Edwin Limpiado are providing pastoral care for Holy Cross Parish in West Sacramento and St. Elizabeth Parish in Sacramento.

Father Mittempergher has been appointed pastor and Fathers Medeiros and Limpiado are serving as parochial vicars.

The priests will be officially welcomed to the diocese at Masses celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Richard J. Garcia at 9 a.m. on Sept. 11 in Holy Cross Church and at 9 a.m. on Sept. 25 in St. Elizabeth Church.

Bishop Garcia, who has been friends with Father Hoppough since both were seminarians studying in Rome, said the priests’ arrival is a blessing for the diocese.

“These priests bring a worldwide dimension to their ministry and their great charism — helping bishops,” Bishop Garcia said. He added with a smile, “We need lots of help here.”

At Holy Cross, the Stigmatine priests will be replacing members of the Society of the Divine Savior (Salvatorians), who had staffed the parish for the past 38 years.

Salvatorian Father Chad Puthoff, who had been pastor of Holy Cross since 1998, departed June 30 and has been assigned to serve as parochial vicar at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Cooksville, Tenn.

The Salvatorians determined two years ago they no longer had enough priests to continue to serve Holy Cross.

The Stigmatine priests, who are proficient in two or more languages and come from Italy, South America and the Philippines, are well prepared to meet the needs of two culturally diverse parish communities.

Approximately 55 percent of the parishioners at Holy Cross are Latino and St. Elizabeth is home to a large number of the Portuguese parishioners.

“There are many different nationalities here and we come from different nations,” Father Mittempergher said. “We find this a good place to serve.”

Born in the city of Trento in Italy near the Austrian border, Father Mittempergher, who arrived June 28, has for the past 40 years served in missions in the African Republics of South Africa and Botswana.

In South Africa he studied theology and was ordained to the priesthood in 1966. In 1994 he voted in the republic’s first general election in which blacks were able to vote.

“I was happy as a citizen to vote for the transition to freedom,” Father Mittempergher said. “It was a fantastic, very moving experience.”

Father Mittempergher, who shares a common heritage with his order’s founder, St. Gaspar Bertoni, relishes the challenge of being part of an effort to revive the presence of the Stigmatines in the United States.

“We have been here since 1905 when there were 100 (of us.) Now there are just 28 in the North American province,” he said.

While the trio of priests did not know one another prior to their arrival in Sacramento, they have already developed a good working relationship.

Fathers Medeiros and Limpiado became acquainted as they traveled together by car from New York City to Sacramento the first week of July.

“I only missed one exit on the way from San Francisco to Sacramento when I realized I was heading to Nevada and we were in the desert,” said Father Limpiado, who eventually found the correct route after receiving directions on his cell phone from a friend.

Father Medeiros, who was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was ordained to the priesthood in 2000 and then served for four years in youth, vocation and catechetical ministries in Paraguay.

In January of this year he returned to Brazil to study English prior to his arrival six months later in the United States.

Born in the Philippines, Father Limpiado arrived in the United States in 2001. Having finished his theological studies, he was then assigned by the Stigmatines to complete his master’s degree in broadcast journalism at Emerson College in Boston.

From 2001 to 2003 he worked as a multimedia intern in the Boston area. Father Limpiado was ordained in 2004 and assigned to serve as parochial vicar at Sacred Heart Parish in Milford, Mass.

Norma Acala is one of a group of Holy Cross parishioners who volunteered to paint the interior of the rectory and had an opportunity to meet the new priests when the work crew was invited to take a break and have lunch.

“(The priests) are fantastic, very friendly and anxious to meet us,” said Acala, a graduate of Holy Cross School and member of the parish for 38 years.

“This is a real family, a very integrated parish,” she said. “Having priests with such varied backgrounds is going to be more inclusive for the whole parish.”

At St. Elizabeth, parish secretary Mary Jo Lee offered an equally positive reaction to the new priests.

“When people were leaving the Portuguese Mass everyone was glowing,” she said. “Now they see there was a plan for us. Everyone seems to embrace them.”

The Stigmatine priests said they have set no specific agenda other than to meet the needs of both parishes and to follow the pastoral plan for the diocese.

“The word is around already,” Father Limpiado said. “There are new priests and people are starting to call and come to see us.”

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