Embedded Files
Join us for Mass this weekend: 4PM Saturday @St. Peter at the Lake (McHenry); 9AM Sunday @the Church (Oakland) followed by Adoration and 11AM Sunday @
Installation Mass of Father Bill Keown as our Pastor, December 1, 2024
A Year in Review From the Staff of St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Parish
Father Bill arrived at St. Peter the Apostle as our Pastor on July 1, 2024. Many opportunities to welcome others and enhance our faith practice have taken place during his first year. We have added a daily Mass on Thursdays, relocated our weekday Masses to our historic church, increased opportunities for Adoration and confessions, welcomed many new parishioners and hosted numerous visiting seminarians, deacons and priests from throughout the Archdiocese and beyond, and much more! We are truly thankful and blessed for his leadership and we pray for many more opportunities for growth and blessings under his guidance in the future.
Thank you, Father Bill. May God continue to abundantly bless you!
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July 1, 2025
Dear St. Peter the Apostle Parish Family,
As I mark my first anniversary as your pastor, I find myself filled with deep gratitude and humility. This past year has been a journey of grace, learning, and shared faith. I want to take a moment to thank each of you for the warmth of your welcome, the generosity of your support, and the strength of your prayers.
In these past twelve months, I’ve witnessed the quiet holiness of this community—your faithful presence at Mass, your commitment to serving one another, and your love for the Lord. We have celebrated sacraments together, mourned losses together, and worked together to build up the Body of Christ in this little corner of His vineyard.
There have been joys and challenges, moments of consolation and moments of stretching. Through it all, I have seen the Spirit of God moving in our midst, guiding us with patience and purpose. Whether in the liturgy, in ministry to the poor, in the religious education classrooms, or simply in everyday conversations after Mass, I’ve come to appreciate how much life and love dwell here at St. Peter’s.
Looking ahead, I am excited about where the Lord is leading us. My hope is that we continue to deepen our sense of communion—growing not only as a parish, but truly as a family of faith united in the Eucharist. Let us remain rooted in prayer, bold in service, and joyful in hope.
Thank you for allowing me the privilege of walking with you this past year. Please continue to pray for me, as I promise to pray for all of you.
With gratitude,
Fr. Bill Keown
About Our Pastor, Father Bill Keown
About Father Bill Keown, Our Pastor
July 1, 2024
Fr. Bill was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Baltimore by Archbishop William Lori at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on June 23, 2018. A native of Kentucky, Fr. Bill served 20 years in the US Navy as a translator of Russian and Arabic languages. His assignments included duty aboard surface ships, submarines, and aircraft with tours in Japan, Bahrain, California, Georgia, Maryland, and Tennessee. His military career brought him to Maryland in 2007, and it was here that he began discerning the call to priesthood after his retirement from the Navy in 2009.
As a seminarian, he served in the parish communities of St. Paul in Ellicott City, the Catholic Community of South Baltimore, the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, St. Ignatius in Hickory, St. Philip Neri in Linthicum, Our Lady of the Fields in Millersville, the Baltimore Basilica, and he served his deacon year at St. Margaret in Bel Air. He attended seminary at St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore where he received his Master of Divinity (MDiv) and Bachelor of Sacred Theology (STB) degrees.
Fr. Bill’s first assignment was as an associate pastor in the pastorate of St. Louis Parish in Clarksville and St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Fulton. Archbishop Lori appointed Fr. Bill as Pastor of Our Lady of Victory and Catholic Chaplain to UMBC on February 15, 2020.
In July 2022, Fr. Bill was appointed to serve as the Director of Deacon Formation for the Archdiocese of Baltimore while continuing to serve as Pastor of OLV.
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