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Dear Friends in Christ,
Words cannot express the joy I have in my priestly heart to be named the founding pastor of our great parish.  I am honored that our bishop has confidence in me to shepherd you and your loved ones.  Please be assured that I remember each of you in my daily prayers and Mass.  I am grateful for your continued support, encouragement and prayers as together we build the Kingdom of God here in Saint Neumann Parish. 
With joyful trust,

Father Protack

 

Rev. Thomas J. Protack, Pastor

Biography

Reverend (Major) Thomas J. Protack,
BA, STB, M. Div, STL

Father Protack was born in 1970 and raised in both New Castle and Sussex Counties in Delaware.  He was ordained by Bishop Michael A. Saltarelli on October 26, 1996 at St. Peter’s Cathedral.  He has served as associate pastor at Our Lady of Fatima in New Castle, administrator of St. John’s in Milford and St. Bernadette’s in Harrington and associate pastor of St. Luke’s-St. Andrew and St. John Neumann.  He was appointed as Administrator of St. Luke-St. Andrew and St. John Neumann in November, 2005.  On October 1, 2006, Bishop Michael Saltarelli appointed him fifth pastor of St. Luke’s-St. Andrew and St. John Neumann Parish.  On October 7, 2007, Father Protack was installed as the founding pastor of Saint John Neumann Parish.

He holds the degree of Licientiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.); a pontifical degree that allows him to teach theology in Catholic Universities and Seminaries in the name of the Vatican.  Currently, Father Protack is a faculty member of our Diocesan Diaconate Program and teaches “The Study of the Church” and “Preaching/Homiletics.”  In addition, he serves as Dean of the Formation Faculty for the Office of Worship overseeing the formation of liturgical ministers in the Diocese of Wilmington.  He has served as a Master of Ceremonies for Bishop Saltarelli.  He is a monthly columnist in the Diocesan Newspaper The Dialog.   He has served as Chaplain to the House of Representatives for the State of Delaware and is spiritual counsel to the Governor’s Office (2000-2009).

Father Protack serves as a Police Chaplain for the Delaware Marine Police and Game Wardens and currently holds the rank of “Major.”  He is as Associate Chaplain to the Delaware Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge.  He was appointed as Associate State Chaplain for the Maryland Knights of Columbus.  In addition, he is Chaplain to the LAOH (Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians) her in Ocean City.  In July 2006 he completed a degree in Bioethics and serves on the Bishop’s Task Force.  In January 2007 he was appointed to the AD HOC committee for the bishop to study the future of Diocese in reference to the clergy shortage, parish re-structuring, and clustering.  In September 2008, Bishop Malooly appointed him to the Maryland Catholic Conference of Bishops. 

Father Protack is a very familiar Ocean City face, especially among the charity golf tournaments and events in our community.  He is the founder of the “Catholic Beach Golf Open” which supports the youth of the Church.

Writings by Father Protack

Fr. Anthony PileggiBiography

Reverend Anthony Mario Pileggi 

Anthony Mario Pileggi, the recently ordained priest for the Diocese of Wilmington, at age 38, is the youngest of seven children born to Maria and Francis Pileggi in the City of Chester, Pennsylvania.  His siblings include four brothers and two sisters. 

Anthony attended grade school and high school at St. Edmonds Academy for Boys and Archmere Academy respectively.  While at Archmere Academy, Anthony was outstanding in football, earning the MVP award in his senior year in addition to being selected to play in the Delaware State Championship Blue Gold All-star Football game.  Anthony also played basketball and ran track while at Archmere. He graduated from Neumann College in Aston, Pennsylvania, with a Bachelors Degree in Communication. 

Anthony was an altar boy who received all his Sacraments in St. Anthony’s Church in Chester, Pennsylvania, which was closed by Cardinal Bevilaqua in 1993 as part of a city wide reorganization of Churches leavings open only one Catholic Church in Chester; namely, St. Katharine Drexel, formerly St. Roberts.   Anthony learned to play the organ at age 10, part of a life long affinity for music.  Beginning at age 12, first at Saint Anthony’s Church in Chester, where he played the organ accompaniment for his father as a vocalist and for the choir, and then 11 years later, at Immaculate Conception in Marcus Hook and Saint John Chrysostom in Wallingford, he continued to play the organ accompaniment for the vocalist and choir.  In 1982, Father Anthony also began playing the organ at Saint Joseph Retreat House in Malvern, Pennsylvania with his father’s weekend retreat group.  Anthony has continued to play the organ at Malvern for the last 25 years where his father also leads and sings with the choir.  

In 1976, Anthony’s mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer and advised by the doctor she had only twelve months to live.  Together with his family, Anthony began pilgrimages to world famous shrines such as Lourdes, Fatima, Medjugorje and Guadalupe.  It was Anthony’s strong conviction that these devotions to the Blessed Mother were the reason that his mother survived for twenty-nine years after her diagnosis.   

Anthony’s uncle, Father Francis J. Pileggi, was one of his role models and is an Oblate priest who has taught at Northeast Catholic High School for boys in Philadelphia and Salesianum High School in Wilmington Delaware for over 36 years.  Another role model was Father Eugene Carbo, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Church in Chester, Anthony’s original parish Church.  

After college, Anthony worked for more than 10 years as vice-president at Beautiful Home Design Center in Claymont, DE, a family owned business and Home Remodeling Center specializing in the design and installation of kitchens, bathrooms and additions.  After spending over a decade in the business world, Anthony responded to a calling to the priesthood, a desire he first expressed as a young boy of 8.  After applying to the Diocese of Wilmington and being accepted, he received his training at Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University. 

Father Anthony was ordained on Saturday, May 19, 2007 by Bishop Michael Saltarelli in St. Peters Cathedral in Wilmington Delaware.  He said his first Mass on Sunday, May 20, 2007 at his home parish, St. Katharine Drexel in Chester, PA.   St. John Neumann is Anthony’s first assignment as a priest.  In addition to being a member of the Knights of Columbus and other Catholic Service organizations, among Father Anthony’s many activities at his new assignment, he is charged with tending to the sick and dying at the local hospital and nursing home.

Presentations by Father Pileggi

Biography

Reverend Mr. John G. Lemon

John Lemon grew up in Philadelphia where he attended both Bishop Neumann and Father Judge High Schools, and then LaSalle College. Following graduation, John served as an officer in the U. S. Army, stationed in Dachau, West Germany. John and his wife Judy married in 1968. They have two married daughters and three grandchildren. Following a 33-year career with the Federal Government, John applied to the Permanent Diaconate Program in the Archdiocese of Washington, D. C. and was ordained at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in 1995 by James Cardinal Hickey. In 2002, John and Judy moved to Ocean Pines and John began diaconal ministry at St. Luke, St. Andrew, St. John Neumann Parish. In 2006 Father Protack asked John to help with the establishment of St. John Neumann parish, serving as Business Manager. John completed his work in the transition and formation of the parish, and resigned the office position to focus on family and Deacon activities.

Biography

Reverend Mr. Wilbur L. Pinder, Jr., Deacon & Parish Business Manager

Deacon Wil was born in Baltimore, MD, on October 4, 1938.  He attended public schools and graduated from Baltimore City College High School. He entered the U.S. Marine Corps in 1956, where he took courses in English Composition at Eastern Carolina State College and later attended the U.S. Naval School of Journalism in Great Lakes, IL. Upon returning home in 1961, he met Marie Stanley, of Jersey City, NJ.  They were married on December 7, 1963.  Wil and Marie (a retired school teacher) have three children and two grandchildren.  From 1961 to 1968 Wil was a reporter for several newspapers including the Baltimore Afro-American and the Baltimore Evening Sun.  He later worked at the Washington Daily News and as a news producer for WJZ-TV in Baltimore.  In 1968 Wil moved to Washington, DC to enter federal service as a public information officer with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services until he retired in 1987. 

Wil applied for and was accepted into the Archdiocese of Washington Diaconal Formation Program in 1988 and was ordained a Permanent Deacon on September 14, 1991 by the late James Cardinal Hickey, Archbishop of Washington.  At that time he was serving the Archdiocese as the Associate Director for Communication and was assigned to St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Derwood, MD for diaconal ministry.  A year later, Cardinal Hickey appointed Deacon Wil Associate Director of the Archdiocesan Office of the Permanent Diaconate, a post he held until 1995 when he was named Pastoral Associate for Administration at St. Francis of Assisi Parish. In 2004 Wil retired and moved to Ocean Pines, MD.  He was assigned to St. Mary Star of the Sea/Holy Savior Parish, Ocean City for diaconal ministry.  He was reassigned to St. John Neumann Parish in May 2009, where he also serves as the Parish Business Manager.

Biography

Reverend Mr. Charlie Weschler

A native of the Washington Metropolitan area, Charlie Weschler was ordained to the Diaconate for the Archdiocese of Washington on September 20, 1997. He has 13 brothers and sisters. He graduated from St. Mary's College of Maryland in 1976 and married his wife Jan the same year.  They have two sons (Stan and Charlie, Jr.) and three grandchildren. He retired from the FBI after 30+ years in August 2007.  He currently serves as chairperson of the Christian Formation Committee and a member of the RCIA team and Liturgy Committee.

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