Hundreds of parishioners and friends of St. Jerome Catholic Church, Tamaqua, lined up in the cramped gymnasium of the parish school to give their regards to the Rev. Robert R. Fagan during a farewell reception held in his honor.

Father Fagan, pastor there for the past 18 years, has been elevated to the level of senior priest by Bishop Edward Cullen of the Diocese of Allentown, who reassigned Father Fagan to be the pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Easton.

Father Fagan is going from a parish of 1,200 to one with close to 2,000 members.

He arrived in Tamaqua in 1982 after having served as pastor of Holy Family Parish, New Philadelphia.