Surf City lends a hand nearby

Deirdre Newman

A familiar face will return to St. Joachim Catholic Church in Costa

Mesa in January when Father Jerome Karcher returns to the parish he

served for five years in the 1990s.

Karcher will temporarily fill the void when Father Joe Robillard

leaves for a six-month sabbatical on Dec. 31. Karcher will fill in

for six months only, as he is the full-time pastor at St. Vincent de

Paul Catholic Church in Huntington Beach. He will serve as an

administrator, which means that he will have the authority of a

pastor but won’t be leading the services every Sunday.

Robillard’s departure comes on the heels of tension between some

Latino parishioners and himself. Some of those disgruntled

parishioners say they hope Karcher’s arrival will encourage those who

have left St. Joachim to return.

“When Father Joe is not here anymore, we can start working with

the new priest and start making changes in the church,” said Hugo

Espinoza. “Until then, not a lot of people want to come back.”

Karcher said he is looking forward to the challenge of helping

heal the schism within the parish. He emphasized the need for

patience.

“If there’s a need for healing, healing takes a long time,”

Karcher said. “If there’s a need for positive growth, that takes a

long time. The body of Christ is a living organism, and as the living

body of Christ, it takes time to move from one place to another.”

He also said his abilities to communicate, collaborate and lead

will help during the transition period.

Karcher was a parochial vicar at St. Joachim from 1990 to 1995

before moving to St. Vincent de Paul, where he has been for eight

years.

Father Joe Fenton, director of media relations for the Diocese of

Orange, said Karcher’s experience and popularity at St. Vincent de

Paul will serve him well at St. Joachim. He also touted Karcher’s

fluency in Spanish.

“He’s been a very successful pastor where he is, and he built a

new church, and the people like him,” Fenton said. “And he’s very

experienced.”

Karcher founded Mercy House, a nonprofit organization that serves

the homeless with a variety of facilities, mostly in Santa Ana. The

services help the homeless acquire new skills, start savings

accounts, take care of bills and find permanent homes, Karcher said.

St. Vincent de Paul will still be his main commitment and home. He

will spend about one-fourth of his time at St. Joachim, Karcher said.

In Costa Mesa, he will continue working on a building project that

Robillard helped develop to refurbish the parish and surrounding

property.

Over the weekend, a large group of parishioners threw a farewell

party for Robillard, and he received an award from the Orange County

Congregation Community Organizations, Karcher said.

“He’s very well loved by many of the parishioners,” Karcher said.

Usually, new pastors are announced in late May, he added.

One of 12 children, Karcher is the son of Carl Karcher, the

founder of the Carl’s Jr. fast-food chain.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa and may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.