Father Douglas Freer, former pastor of St. Rose Parish, Belmar, has been appointed as vicar for Catholic Education. In this position, Father Freer will supervise the Offices of Catholic Schools, Catechesis and Evangelization, the Institute for Lay Ecclesial Ministry, and all formation certificate programs, as well as the Holy Innocents Society.

“This newly created position is an opportunity to address the faith needs of young people in all aspects … and to support and strengthen those who are often the unsung heroes of the diocese—religious educators,” said Father Freer, who noted there are some 70,000 youth enrolled in religious education programs diocesan-wide.

As a priest who has served the diocese, in part, in two high schools and three elementary schools, and as a former Episcopal priest and convert to Catholicism, Father Freer explained, “I studied and reflected and prayed a great deal about what is truly the Catholic faith. I chose {the Catholic faith},” and that decision was nourished by strong catechesis and formation. His background has led to a commitment to ensuring a strong Catholic identity in all diocesan Catholic schools and religious education and formation programs.

Speaking about the new structure of the offices he will be supervising, Father Freer noted that the coming year will be an opportunity for him to evaluate and nurture what he envisions as the relationships between programs and the connections between departments, referring to them as “different aspects of the same project.”

Putting together areas of evangelization and catechesis works well, he said, because evangelization affects and invites catechesis. “Sharing the Good News of Christ is teaching the Good News of Christ,” explaining, also, that Catholic identity is about “how we teach, work and evangelize.”

Often, he stressed, “through children we evangelize and catechize parents.”

One of the big challenges of his new position, said Father Freer, will be “making Catholic education accessible financially. There is a need to address the rising cost of Catholic schools” and, hopefully, “increase the amount of scholarship money for Catholic families trying to send their children to Catholic schools. I am convinced more families would send children if they could afford it. There has to be a mindset change, schools can’t fund themselves.”

While schools, often through the efforts of school advisory councils, continue to seek more funding, school communities are “a little bit behind on the stewardship curve. Sometimes they are so focused on funding they haven’t thought about stewardship, but the places which focus on stewardship living and stewardship spirituality are building Catholic schools,” Father Freer said.

One of Father Freer’s priorities for the coming year will be to “visit schools and religious education programs, see and learn from them the joys and challenges, and find out what their greatest needs are.”

“I’m really excited about this opportunity,” Father Freer acknowledged. “This is a hopeful time for the Church. People are craving a deeper relationship with God and a deeper faith.”

Father Freer was ordained May 18, 2007, by Bishop John M. Smith in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, having previously served for five years as rector of St. James Episcopal Church, Long Branch.

Father Freer completed his seminary studies for the Catholic priesthood in Immaculate Conception Seminary, Seton Hall University, South Orange, adding a master of arts in theology degree to his two previous degrees of a master of divinity and a master of theology in liturgies.

As a seminarian, Father Freer served in St. Joseph Parish, Toms River; Holy Trinity, Long Branch, and St. Aloysius Parish, Caldwell, Archdiocese of Newark.

Following his ordination, Father Freer served from 2007-2008 as parochial vicar of St. Joseph Parish, Toms River, ministering also at Monsignor Donovan High School and St. Joseph Grammar School.

From 2008-2009, Father Freer served as administrator of Holy Family Parish, Union Beach, where he had the “sad experience of being there when Holy Family School closed.”

Father Freer then served from 2009-2011 as pastor of St. Rose Parish, Belmar, also directing the parish’s high school and grammar school.