Archbishop Seán P. O’Malley has named pastors for two parishes of the archdiocese: Father Thomas F. Nestor is the new pastor at St. Eulalia Parish in Winchester and Father Mark J. Coiro at St. Mary Parish in Holliston. The effective date for Father Nestor was Aug. 15 and for Father Coiro will be Sept. 26.

Father Thomas Nestor

Born in Dorchester and a proud son of St. Theresa of Avila Parish in West Roxbury, Father Nestor is an alumnus of Harvard College and St. John Seminary. Cardinal Medeiros ordained him to the priesthood on June 20, 1981 at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston.

His first priestly assignment was as associate pastor at St. Robert Bellarmine Parish in Andover. The pastor of the parish, the late Father Frederick Collins was his guide and mentor and they became friends. Shortly before this appointment Father Nestor celebrated the funeral Mass and preached at his long time friend’s funeral Mass in Quincy.

Only two years after being assigned to Andover, Father Nestor took up responsibilities as secretary and notary in the Metropolitan Tribunal of the archdiocese. During those years he lived in residence at Mary Immaculate of Lourdes rectory in Newton.

In 1985 he was sent to pursue graduate work in psychology and for the next seven years he labored in academia obtaining his degree from Loyola University in Chicago in 1992.

For the following 10 years he was a full-time member of the faculty of St. John Seminary where he taught psychology and pastoral counseling. In 2002 he was assigned an additional duty as Delegate of the Archbishop for Pastoral Support of Priests. This was a particularly sensitive assignment where he provided advice and support for priests who were on administrative leave from an archdiocesan assignment. He remained as a part-time member of the faculty during this time.

In August 2003 Archbishop O’Malley named him administrator of St. Eulalia parish, and effective Aug. 15 he named him pastor of the largely suburban parish encompassing parts of the towns of Arlington and Winchester.

Father Nestor’s great gifts of mind and spirit will be of great service to his new parish, one which is very active and has numerous programs within the parish and a number of outreach programs stretching the parishioners beyond their own boundaries.

Father Mark Coiro

Effective Sept. 26 Father Mark Coiro will be the new pastor at St. Mary Parish in Holliston succeeding Father William Haley. Born in Hartford, Conn., Father Coiro attended archdiocesan seminaries and was ordained at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on May 21, 1994 by Cardinal Bernard Law.

Following ordination Father Coiro was assigned as parochial vicar at St. Theresa of Lisieux parish in Billerica. Father Eugene Tully was his first pastor in a parish that has been experiencing substantial growth in population over the past few decades. At the end of his first assignment he was named parochial vicar at Weymouth’s St. Jerome Parish. Not unlike what he found at Billerica, Father Coiro found a similarly busy parish and active pastor in the person of Father Thomas Wyndham.

In June 2001 he was named parochial vicar at St. Joseph Parish in Medway where Msgr. Timothy Moran, former rector of St. John Seminary, is now the pastor. More like Billerica in demographics, the Medway parish served as a good training ground for his new assignment in nearby Holliston. In an interesting twist, Father Coiro will be pastor in the parish where Msgr. Moran was once an associate with retiring pastor, Father William Haley.

Father Coiro will be entering his new assignment just as most of the parish’s activities resume. The immediate immersion into his new parish will be easier to endure because of his excellent previous experience in great parishes with good pastors.