May 27, 2021

Retiring diocesan finance officer William LaBroad honored at Mass, reception

REGIONAL
By Rebecca Drake

SPRINGFIELD – According to his calculations, diocesan finance officer William LaBroad has retired after 27 years and 9,746 days at the diocese, and logging about 850,000 miles on his cars.

LaBroad was honored by Springfield Bishop William D. Byrne at the May 26 noontime Mass at St. Michael’s Cathedral, here. Worshippers included dozens of priests, deacons and diocesan staff members, as well as LaBroad’s wife, Mary Ellen, his daughter, Kate, and other family members and close friends.

During his homily, Bishop Byrne referenced the day’s reading from the Gospel of Mark, in which Jesus says. “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve.”

“If you were to pick a model of Bill, that would be it, to serve and to give and that’s what you did,” Bishop Byrne said. He noted that LaBroad faced many challenges during his tenure at the diocese. “From tornadoes to TikTok pastors, you saw every storm. You saw a baby bishop and got me on my feet, for which I’m grateful – that you hung in here this long for us to have a new system in place.”

Among the financial challenges faced by the diocese during LaBroad’s tenure were the 1999 fire that destroyed Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Holyoke; the 2011 tornado that destroyed the former Cathedral High School in Springfield; and the building of the new Pope Francis Preparatory School (PFPS) on the site of the former Cathedral High School.

During the Mass, the bishop presented LaBroad with a plaque denoting the establishment of a conference room named for him at PFPS.

Concluding his homily, Bishop Byrne thanked LaBroad and his family members and, on behalf of the priests, thanked LaBroad for always meeting challenges “with professionalism and with grace.”

Speaking to iObserve after the Mass, LaBroad said, for him, “The highlights (of the job) were working with the bishops that I’ve had the pleasure of serving,” and “the clergy that I’ve interacted with over the years, the religious, Sister Andrea, all the religious have been just outstanding, Sister Judith, Sister Eileen in the cathedral. There were just wonderful people throughout. That’s really the highlights, the people.”

He is looking forward to more time for relaxing and for playing golf. He also will be enjoying a vacation trip to Hawaii with extended family members in August.

A Springfield native, LaBroad grew up in the city’s Pine Point section, where his family belonged to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish (OLSH) and were active in the life of the parish. He and his four siblings attended Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Grammar School and, he said, “In my younger years, I worked at OLSH in various maintenance capacities.”

He graduated from the former Technical High School in Springfield and earned an accounting degree at Springfield’s American International College, where he also earned a master’s in business administration. He later earned a master’s degree in taxation from Bentley College. He is a certified public accountant licensed in Massachusetts.

Before accepting the position at the Springfield Diocese, LaBroad worked in manufacturing, state government, higher education, real estate investment, and public accounting with the former Peat Marwick.

During a luncheon reception and presentations following the May 26 Mass. LaBroad’s exceptional credentials were lauded by diocesan lawyer John Egan, who recalled saying when LaBroad was hired by the diocese, “We’re never going to be able to keep this guy.” However, Egan, said it was “Bill’s commitment to the mission” that kept him at the job.

“And he was very humble and very easy to work with,” Egan said.

Along with prayers, the presentation included additional accolades, and some tears, from committee members and colleagues who have worked with LaBroad over the years. On behalf of the staff of the Fiscal Affairs Office, Colleen DiMarzio-Richards said, “Thank you, you’ve taught us so much over all these years.”

“I hope you know that you made a difference,” said DiMarzio-Richards. “You made a difference in our lives.”

During the presentation, Bishop Byrne again thanked LaBroad for his guidance, noting that his priesthood training did not include the topic of “investment strategies.”

“So, I was blessed to have Bill LaBroad teaching me a little bit of how to be a bishop,” he said.

When it came time for the man of honor to speak, he fought back tears as he thanked Bishop Byrne for “the eucharistic celebration and the kind words.”

“When do laypeople get to experience a Mass for themselves when they are on this side if the earth?” he asked. He thanked the priests, deacons, religious and “the entire finance team,” saying, “I wish to celebrate all the contributions of those who are with us today.”

LaBroad also thanked his wife Mary Ellen and his three grown children, Dan, Matt and Kate, and joked that, “What I’ve learned about retirement so far is to say, ‘I’ll check with Mary Ellen and get back to you.’”

Among the gifts he received at the reception was a gift certificate for a popular golf resort in New Hampshire. This likely prompted Springfield Bishop Emeritus Timothy McDonnell, known for his puns, to remark before leading the closing prayer: “Bill, retirement suits you to a ‘tee.’”  

A video version of this story will be featured on an upcoming edition of “Real to Reel,” which airs Saturday evenings at 7 on WWLP-22NEWS.