‘Flat Fr. Pat’ allows St. Pius X pastor to become armchair traveler

By BETH DONZE
Clarion Herald

Father Patrick Williams managed to log thousands of travel miles this past summer without even having to leave the confines of his home parish of St. Pius X Church in New Orleans.

Well, make that virtual travel miles.

A parishwide project called “Flat Fr. Pat” tapped into the wonders of smartphone technology to allow St. Pius X parishioners to “take” their pastor along with them on their summer travels. 

Participation was easy: At the end of May, parishioners were invited to download a paper-doll size image of Father Williams from the parish website, cut it out and take it along with them on vacation. Then, whenever the family or individual was going to church, praying, visiting a place of worship or taking part in some other spiritually uplifting adventure, they could include their Flat Fr. Pat “stick puppet” in one of their vacation photos for online posting under the hashtag #flatfrpat – so all could keep track of Flat Fr. Pat’s virtual meanderings.

The idea turned out to be a summer sensation, with hundreds of parishioners of all ages taking part in the fun challenge. Not only did Flat Fr. Pat keep members of St. Pius X’s parish family connected, but he also served as a visual reminder to attend Mass, wherever in the world they happened to be on a given Sunday.

“When the kids came back they would tell me where they took me over the summer,” Father Williams said, smiling. “It started out as something for the kids to have fun with, but what was surprising was that the adults took just as much pleasure in it – so I got to see some beautiful churches in Europe. It seemed like every Sunday at Mass I had somebody telling me, ‘I saw you went here. I saw you went there. I saw you in the mountains.’ And so I was worn out! I needed a rest!” 

Frequent flier

Photos streamed in from foreign destinations such as Portugal, France, Vatican City, Ireland and Colombia, while New York City, Washington, D.C., the Gulf Coast, Las Vegas, Colorado, California, Alaska, Montana and Puerto Rico were among Flat Fr. Pat’s stops in his native land.

Spiritually fulfilling destinations included the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Yosemite, where Flat Fr. Pat visited a mountain fittingly named “Cathedral Peak.”

Flat Fr. Pat also enjoyed a few “staycations”– such as those to Camp Abbey in Covington, and a trip with the Landry family to attend Mass at St. Mary Magdalen Church in Metairie and have his picture snapped with fellow pastor, Father Christian DeLerno.

In yet another trip taken within the state, Flat Fr. Pat was taken by the Richard family to a spiritual retreat in Abbeville, led by Father Gary Copping.

Kudos for the farthest-flung journey from New Orleans went to David and Sue Sabrio, who took Fr. Flat Pat with them on a hiking adventure to South Africa’s Table Mountain and Black Canyon.

Armchair & actual traveler

The unique family project was inspired by Jeff Brown’s popular “Flat Stanley” children’s book series. In a back-to-school video to parishioners last month, the real Father Williams thanked his school and parish family for taking him along with them on their journeys, but said it was time to get back into the groove of school.

“I don’t travel that much. That’s why this was a big adventure for me to do it vicariously,” chuckled Father Williams, noting however, that he actually did travel to Switzerland and Uganda back when he was rector of Notre Dame Seminary, in conjunction with his seminarians’ ordination Masses. This summer, he also really went with his three brothers to Dodger Stadium to watch his favorite baseball team beat the Chicago Cubs.

Theresa Truxillo, who hatched the Flat Fr. Pat idea as St. Pius X’s ministry coordinator, said the project “really brought joy and true connection” to parish families during the irregularity of summer schedules and coming out of the isolation of COVID-19.

“My own teenage son said an older parishioner commented on how he saw that our family had visited Yosemite,” Truxillo said. “(My son) asked him, ‘How did you know I went to Yosemite?‘ And the man said, ‘Because you brought Flat Fr. Pat with you!‘ What a funny way to make connections and build community!” 

Amy Barrios, St. Pius X’s social media coordinator, kept everyone updated on Flat Fr. Pat’s travels by posting the contributions each week in the online Parish Press.

“It was a really good way to keep parishioners engaged in the parish over the summer,” Barrios said. “In addition to taking him to Mass, there were people who went rock-climbing and white water rafting with him!” 

To show just how much the world has “shrunk” in the age of the internet, one St. Pius X family unknowingly went to a Mass in Florida celebrated by a priest who attended Notre Dame Seminary with Father Williams. Connections such as these likely will bring back “some version” of Flat Fr. Pat next summer, said Father Williams, who also serves the Archdiocese of New Orleans as vicar general.

“We’ll have to decide whether they’ll be taking me in the same traveling pose, or if I should wear vestments next time – so I’ll be prepared when they take me to church!” he quipped.

Please note that there is a priest in Wisconsin who uses the same hashtag, so photos of the two men are mixed in together. (The priest from St. Pius X is the one wearing the hat!)