For the most part, the travels of Father Richard Vega have been relatively confined in his 23 years of priesthood --- primarily within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

That is about to change in a hurry, as befitting his new role as president of the National Federation of Presbyteral Councils. Not only will Father Vega be moving to NFPC's Chicago headquarters effective July 1, he will be embarking on an extensive trip that will take him to meetings in Vermont, Washington, D.C., Nigeria, London and to most major U.S. provinces --- plus a quick trip back to Southern California in August for an RCIA "Beginnings and Beyond" seminar in Redondo Beach.

"Quite a change," smiles the affable native of Los Angeles, who has spent the last 12 years as pastor of La Purísima Concepción Church in Lompoc and admits that "it will be hard to leave parish work to go to an administrative role. You develop a whole set of relationships that is hard to leave behind."

At the same time, Father Vega is looking forward to his new, five-year assignment with the NFPC, the organization composed of priests councils from dioceses throughout the U.S.

Father Vega recently addressed an NFPC meeting, in English and Spanish, on the changing face of the church today, with emphasis on its youth and multilingual, multicultural character.

"The priesthood is very different today from what it was," he noted. "As priests, we no longer share a common schooling and ecclesiology, because more and more we come from diverse backgrounds, different life experiences. Many of us are older upon ordination, more of us come from different countries. So we need to look at the common bond we do have --- to serve the church and the people of God."

To that end, Father Vega hopes to encourage more international participation in priests councils, and to develop processes that address other NFPC goals, namely:
---to promote and collaborate on programs of pastoral research;
---to further the spiritual renewal of priestly life;
---to collaborate with national groups of religious and laity in ways that will promote the renewal of the church in the United States;
---to collaborate with the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in addressing the needs of the church in the United States;
---to encourage and assist priests' councils to reflect on and promote justice in light of the social teachings of the church.

"We have come through a very demoralizing time, no question," Father Vega said, referring to the clergy sex abuse scandal. "But now, while that is certainly not behind us, I do see signs that people are looking forward to focus on building the kingdom of God. To that end, my role is to find out who is doing what in their dioceses, where is there energy --- the kind of thing that encourages priests in other areas. I'm hoping we can reclaim our priority, to bring pastoral care to the people of God."

The first Los Angeles Archdiocesan priest to serve as NFPC head, Father Vega is a graduate of Resurrection School in East L.A. and Our Lady Queen of Angels Seminary High School in Mission Hills. Ordained in 1983 from St. John's Seminary, the 49-year-old priest previously served 12 years on the archdiocesan presbyteral council, five as chairman, and during that time was elected chairman of the Region XI Council of Presbyteral Senates.

He most recently served as NFPC vice president, and also currently serves on the national advisory board of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The NFPC (www.nfpc.org) was formed in the late 1960s. Its goals include promoting priestly unity and fraternity by facilitating communication among priests councils; providing a national forum for priests to discuss pastoral matters; and enabling priests councils to speak with a common voice.

The NFPC was a cosponsor of the "Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership" symposium held around the U.S. (including earlier this year in Sierra Madre), in which parish leaders examined such issues as "what parish life will look like 20 years from now," and "the best practices to build a healthy, vibrant parish."

"We need to look at possibilities with bishops in all dioceses," said Father Vega. "The Emerging Models conferences tell us that, as leadership of the parish, we need to envision, plan, take action, give options to our bishops. We cannot just wait for our bishops to give us direction and tell us what steps to take; we need to assist them in building a church that is healthy, dynamic and brings the Gospel of Jesus to our communities."