ZELIENOPLE — The Rev. Michael Roche delivered his first sermon last month for the parishioners of St. Gregory Roman Catholic Church, 2 W. Beaver St.

Roche, 36, succeeded the Rev. Larry Smith as the parish’s priest after Smith retired last month.

“I hope to continue to effectively proclaim Christ as savior and to do so with the fullness and gift of the sacraments and really to keep the church alive in Zelienople and Evans City,” Roche said.

A Carrick native, Roche grew up in a “solidly Catholic” family.

“The idea of a priestly vocation was sort of on the table from a young age,” he said.

He said the idea “went on the back burner” during high school and college.

“It took a really profound conversion experience, a real renewal of my awareness of God’s love for me, that brought me back to a deeper openness to what the Lord might be leading me to,” he said.

After further thought, Roche decided to dedicate himself to the Roman Catholic Church.

Roche graduated from St. Vincent College in Latrobe majoring in accounting. After about five and a half years of accounting work, he attended St. Paul Seminary through Duquesne University and then studied at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., studying theology.

Before arriving at St. Gregory and St. Matthias Roman Catholic Church in Evans City, Roche held positions in Pittsburgh area parishes.

He spent the past four years as a priest at St. Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood and as chaplain at Central Catholic High School and Oakland Catholic High School.

He also served as parochial vicar at St. Basil and St. Wendelin in Carrick, St. Albert the Great in Baldwin and St. Norbert in Overbrook, assisting other priests.

Roche said he spoke with Smith before he retired.

“He was a good-hearted priest and really was open to share with me everything he did and saw in these parishes. He loved them,” he said. “He thought they were just tremendous places of faith.”

Parishioners and church employees said they look forward to Roche’s service to the parish.

“We’re very excited. His enthusiasm is already contagious,” parishioner Mary Ann Nock said. “He has a great deal of humor.”

Nock said Roche seems to relate well with parishioners and children.

“He’ll be wonderful for the church,” she said.

Pastoral associate Patricia Myers said his delivery in Masses is “extemporaneous.”

“He didn’t look through his notes or anything. He is directed by the Spirit,” she said.

“He’ll be a good shepherd to the people of St. Gregory and St. Matthias,” she said.

Roche said he is enjoying the small-town feel of Zelienople.

“This is my first time north of the Allegheny River,” he said.

Roche also said he looks forward to being “the spiritual leader of two great parishes and a thriving school.”

“I’m excited about getting to know more about them (the people), their lives, their stories and how their faith has been lived in this part of Western Pennsylvania,” he said.