Fr. Thomas Rayar

After a three-month wait, a court decision was made this week in regard to a legal dispute between Father Thomas Rayar and a group of St. Francis Xavier Church members.

A suit against the group of parishioners was dismissed last Tuesday, May 27 in district court at the Wright County Government Center.
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The attorney for Father Rayar, Ted Buselmeier of Buffalo, said, "We can go to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
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Friction between Fr. Rayar and parish members reached a peak last February and led to Fr. Rayar's resignation as pastor.He then filed a lawsuit.He felt a letter sent to parishioners damaged his reputation.
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The Jan. 16 letter spoke of six "turbulent" years since Fr. Rayar became pastor and expressed concern about people leaving the parish.It also suggested Fr. Rayar had been in a long-term inappropriate relationship with a woman from a parish where the priest formerly served.

A petition calling for the removal of Fr. Rayar as pastor was to be presented following Mass on Sunday, Feb. 3, but when Fr. Rayar resigned on Friday, Feb. 1 there was no need to present the petition.
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Fr. Rayar, who is originally from India where he was ordained in 1993, reportedly came to the U.S. two years later, according a story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune last February.He served at St. Raphael in Crystal, St. Rose of Lima Church in Roseville and St. Luke's Catholic Church in Clearwater before being assigned by Archbishop Harry Flynn to St. Francis Xavier in 2001.

In a letter to parishioners dated Jan. 25, Archbishop Flynn acknowledged the discord, strife and anger at St. Francis, and the letter attempted to set the record straight, stop rumors and begin a process of healing.

"A rumor has been circulating suggesting that Father Rayar had an improper relationship with an adult female.Father Rayar has responded strongly that this is not the case.We have also reviewed all of the available evidence, and we believe that the rumor is false," he wrote.

He pointed out accomplishments of Fr. Rayar at St. Francis, such as a strong financial condition and a strong administrative capacity.The parish and the school have both grown, he said.The archbishop added that Fr. Rayar's leadership during the challenging process of building a new education center was most impressive.

However, given the seriousness of the strife in the parish, Archbishop Flynn decided last February to give Fr. Rayar a new assignment.

Friction between Pastor Thomas Rayar of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Buffalo and parish members reached a peak last week and has led to Fr. Rayar's resignation, as well as pending legal action.

Fr. Rayar feels a letter sent to parishioners has damaged his reputation.

Fr. Rayar could not be reached for comment.
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The Jan. 16 letter speaks of six "turbulent" years since Fr. Rayar became pastor and expresses concern about people leaving the parish.It also suggests Fr. Rayar has been in a long-term inappropriate relationship with a woman from a parish where the priest formerly served.

A petition calling for the removal of Fr. Rayar as pastor was to be presented following Mass last Sunday, Feb. 3, but when Fr. Rayar resigned last Friday, Feb. 1 there was no need to present the petition.
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The story indicates parishioners have clashed with Fr. Rayar for a long time and complaints have been sent to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.Fr. Rayar is reportedly accused of intimidating parishioners who disagree with him and creating a hostile work environment.

Parishioners have expressed concern about the future of the St. Francis Church building near the downtown area of Buffalo.Fr. Rayar has led a project to establish a new St. Francis Xavier Education Center north of town along Co.Rd. 138.

The Minneapolis newspaper's story mentions Fr. Rayar is originally from India, where he was ordained in 1993.He reportedly came to the U.S. two years later.He served at St. Raphael in Crystal, St. Rose of Lima Church in Roseville and St. Luke's Catholic Church in Clearwater before being assigned by Archbishop Harry Flynn to St. Francis Xavier in 2001.

In a letter to parishioners dated Jan. 25, Archbishop Flynn acknowledges the discord, strife and anger at St. Francis and attempts to set the record straight, stop the rumors and begin a process of healing.

"A rumor has been circulating suggesting that Father Rayar had an improper relationship with an adult female.Father Rayar has responded strongly that this is not the case.We have also reviewed all of the available evidence, and we believe that the rumor is false," he wrote.

He points out accomplishments of Fr. Rayar at St. Francis, such as a strong financial condition and a strong administrative capacity.The parish and the school have both grown, he says.The archbishop added that Fr. Rayar's leadership during the challenging process of building a new education center is most impressive.

However, given the seriousness of the strife in the parish, Archbishop Flynn has decided to give Fr. Rayar a new assignment.

Fr. Thomas RayarPastor

Our pastor, Father Tom Rayar, with Bob Hageman, Trustee

This past Saturday evening, I had the privilege of installing Father Thomas Rayar as pastor of St. Francis Xavier Church in Buffalo.Father Rayar is a priest of this archdiocese who came to us from India.Previously he had served as pastor of St. Luke in Clearwater and as associate in Roseville and also in Crystal.

I could not help but notice the enthusiasm of the people in favor of their new pastor.
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Father Froehle seemed to have captured the hearts of the people in Buffalo as their pastor, and Father Thomas Rayar already, it seems, has captured the hearts of the people of that parish.
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I would dare say that the enthusiasm for Father Charles Froehle and for Father Thomas Rayar that I experienced this past Saturday comes from both of them having that quality of affirmation - a quality that is born out of a deep conviction that God has created those around them and that what God has created is good.

Father Thomas Rayar, 48, resigned Feb. 1 from the Church of St. Francis Xavier in Buffalo, but not before he sued 11 members of the congregation for defamation of character, saying that they "threatened to publicly humiliate" him at a sit-in scheduled for Feb. 3, according to the Star Tribune.

The planned protest, in which parishioners had said they would occupy the church until Rayar was removed by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, has been canceled.

Rayar arrived at the parish in 2001.In 2004, he became a US citizen.He is originally from India.

But their dire forecast was accelerated by a sharp decline in enrollment the first half of the school year.

Father Thomas Rayar, pastor of St. Francis Xavier in Buffalo, has four masters degrees from Madurai University in India, speaks four languages and makes a mean curry chicken.

On Wednesday, Feb. 18, the priest from Tamil Nadu in southeastern India acquired a new distinction - American citizen.

Joined by 751 other immigrants and 35 friends at Bethel College and Seminary in St. Paul, Father Rayar pledged his allegiance to the United States and became a dual-citizen of America and India.

"I am proud to be American, as I am proud to be Indian," Father Rayar said."But becoming an American will never diminish my love for my country of origin."

In fact, dual citizenship will make his regular trips home to India a bit easier, in addition to giving him voting rights and tax obligations, Father Rayar said.

Ordained in India in 1993, Father Rayar began his American ministry in 1995 as an associate pastor at St. Raphael in Crystal.In 1998, he became an associate pastor at St. Rose of Lima in Roseville, and from 1999 to 2001 he served as pastor of St Luke in Clearwater.In 2001, he assumed his current position as pastor of St. Francis Xavier.

Although he has lived in the United States with a green card for nine years, Father Rayar applied to become a naturalized citizen in August only after the Indian government passed a bill permitting dual citizenship for Indians in America.

His six-month naturalization process, which included a 10-page application, FBI finger-printing, an interview and language and history tests, ended last week with a 40-minute ceremony and a judge's reminder to "remember where you came from."

Remembering where he came from has never been a problem for Father Rayar.In fact, he has made a concerted effort to introduce Indian culture to his parishioners at St. Francis Xavier.
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Father Rayar also has cooked seven curry chicken dinners for parishioners during the past two years as part of various school and church fund-raisers.

The dinners build community and make parishioners more aware of Indian food, music and hospitality, Father Rayar said.

"Indians are not people who go out for dinner very much, because Indian hospitality is always that you cook at home," he said."Somebody making an effort and cooking with love and providing for their guests, that is Indian hospitality."

The weekend after the ceremony, parishioners at St. Francis Xavier returned Father Rayar's Indian hospitality with some hospitality of their own.

To celebrate his newly-acquired citizenship, members of the parish council recognized Father Rayar at all of the weekend Masses, the bell and children's choirs performed special musical pieces to honor him, and more than 200 parishioners gathered at three after-Mass receptions to congratulate him.

"I could see that they wanted to celebrate this day of naturalization in a great manner that shows how welcoming they are," Father Rayar said.

Father Tom Rayar, pastor of St. Francis Xavier, Buffalo, will celebrate.Rosary at 6:30 p.m.

St. Olaf Faith and Work Breakfast: 7 to 9 a.m. at St. Olaf, 215 S. Eighth St., Minneapolis.

Father Tom Rayar, pastor of St. Francis Xavier, Buffalo, will celebrate.Rosary at 6:30 p.m.

Pastor Tom Rayar is applauding as Archbishop Flynn cuts the ribbon.