Even after 50 years in New Mexico, Father Augustine John Moore still has a Southern accent.
Moore, 76, newly retired pastor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Española, served at Sacred Heart for nearly 15 years, and will return to his hometown of Mobile, Ala., for his retirement.
“It’s very difficult to leave,” Moore said. “I would love to be pastor here forever.”
Moore was ordained May 28, 1960, at the St. Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe, and went on to serve in nine parishes over 50 years, including 11 years in Raton and two years in Pojoaque, but his longest stay was in Española.
“It’s a lovely parish with lovely, lovely people,” Moore said after giving his final Mass July 9. “It’s been a delight.”
During his time at Sacred Heart, Moore oversaw the renovations of the church, including repainting the interior of the chapel and installation of a new roof, and said the cooperation of the parishioners made his job a joy.
“The people are what make a parish,” he said.
His parishioners signed and submitted to the archbishop a petition asking that Moore’s retirement be deferred, said Lafie Lopez, the church secretary who has worked with Moore for the duration of his stay.
“He’s always there to help people,” Lopez said. “He’s never had a day off.”
Moore will be replaced by Father Oscar Coelho, who felt a call to leave his native Bombay, India, to join the Catholic Church in New Mexico. Coelho, ordained in 2008, previously served as the associate director of the St. Francis Cathedral, and now takes up his first appointment.
“It will be hard to fill his shoes,” Coelho said. “They’re very big shoes. He’s done so much good.”
In his retirement, Moore plans to read books he’s saved for years and to write poetry. Moore’s book of religious poetry will be published later this year.
Unfortunately, the oil spill has ruined fishing near Mobile this year, Moore said.
After Moore finished his final Mass, the parish presented him with one of the original crosses that stood on the roof of the church until they were replaced during the renovations. The crosses, which adorned the church since its construction in the 1940s, had deteriorated beyond easy repair.
The parishioners restored one of the crosses as Moore’s parting gift, a symbol to remind him of the church.
“It was a marvelous gift,” Moore said. “It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve here.”
Lopez was nearly in tears as she sat in the church office, watching Father Moore take his final departure, 14 years of boxes loaded into a U-Haul outside the door.
“We’re going to miss him very much,” Lopez said.