CBB Interview with Father Richard Infante

Richard Infante is a Catholic priest of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, He holds four master’s degrees, including a Master of Fine Arts in fiction writing from the University of Pittsburgh. His work has appeared in journals such as Dappled Things, The Catholic Faith, and Pennsylvania Illustrated. He has been active in the promotion of the arts in the Pittsburgh region.

I had the pleasure of asking him a few questions on his collected work Last Priest Standing and other Stories. Our interview follows.

 PETE: Can you tell us how the stories included in LAST PRIEST STANDING developed and became combined in this single volume?

FATHER RICHARD INFANTE: Before I became a priest, I completed an undergraduate degree in literature and a master of fine arts degree in writing at the University of Pittsburgh, producing a novel for my thesis.  When I went to the seminary, I put away my literary pen and immersed myself in the world of biblical, theological, liturgical, spiritual and historical studies in preparation for the priesthood.  Try as I might, though, I could not suppress the creative impulse to make meaning out of my experience and, before I left the seminary, wrote a fiction that eventually became “The Waters of Tribulation,” the first story in the collection.

Once I was ordained, I used most of my vacation and retreat time to find solitude at a monastery or a parishioner’s cottage or a bed and breakfast to write more short stories as they arose in my imagination over the years.  After publishing some of these stories in literary journals, Catholic periodicals or regional magazines, I realized that I had a group of stories that unintentionally coalesced around the sacraments of the Church.

A few years ago, I did a series of public readings at a local retreat center that got me to thinking about putting together a collection of my fiction.  With the encouragement of my publisher, Lambing Press, I finished the novella, “Saints and Sojourners,” and then got to work on the title story to complete the book.

PETE: This collection of stories was a delight to read, Father.  How much of Father Infante is included in these pages?

FATHER RICHARD INFANTE: The short stories and novella are not autobiographical.  While I’ve certainly drawn from my experience in the priesthood these past 24 years in rendering the seven sacraments, or describing noted pilgrimage destinations such as the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City or suggesting struggles in the priestly life, the characters and plots are works of fiction, the themes, I hope, resonating with people of faith.  Place or setting is an important element of my fiction, so I am personally familiar with most of the places mentioned in the stories.  I like to think that my imagination and artistry can take the reader to the places, events or conflicts that are my fictional creations.

PETE: Of these seven stories which is your favorite?

FATHER RICHARD INFANTE: My personal favorite is “Birdland.”  It’s a story set on the shores of Lake Erie in the summer of the Boston scandal.  It’s a story about a priest at a family reunion who is haunted by the memory of a young woman he baptized just hours before she died.  With the recent release of the movie, “Spotlight,” which has raised that scandal, again, the short story is a timely reflection on the tragic impact of those horrible crimes and a priest’s compassionate response to an innocent victim and his trust in the merciful mystery of God’s providence.

PETE: Will we be seeing more tales from Fr. Infante anytime soon?

FATHER RICHARD INFANTE: I’ve been thinking about a novel:  sketching outlines, experimenting with characters, developing plot, theme and setting.  I think I’d like to try a larger canvas.  But for a busy pastor in a sizeable suburban parish, time is always a limitation.  Pastoral duties make it difficult to find the block of time needed to compose a fuller work of fiction.

PETE: Time for my signature ending question.  This is a blog about books.  What books are currently on your bookshelf to read?

FATHER RICHARD INFANTE: I just finished the biography of Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Something More Pastoral.  Then-Bishop Wuerl ordained me to the priesthood of Jesus Christ about 24 years ago.

I’ve started reading a classical text of literary criticism by Erich Auerbach, Mimesis:  The Representation of Reality in Western Literature from the 1950s.

A friend gave me a book by Robert Stackpole, STD, entitled Divine Mercy:  A Guide from Genesis to Benedict XVI, which I intend to read during this Jubilee Year of Mercy.

And I’m in the middle of reading a fascinating novel by William Breckenridge, Wrangling Echoes, set in the Appalachian region of Pennsylvania.

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