Catholics in two area parishes will see familiar faces return to their pulpits at the end of the month.

The Diocese of Fall River has announced that the Rev. Thomas A. Frechette will become pastor of St. Mark's Parish in North Attleboro. He will take over from the current pastor of St. Mark's Parish, the Rev. Thomas L. Rita, who will become pastor of St. Mary's Parish in Seekonk. The current pastor of St. Mary's Parish, the Rev. George B. Scales, will become pastor of a church on Cape Cod.

In addition, the Rev. Thomas E. Costa will become a parochial vicar, or assistant pastor, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Seekonk. Costa, a Seekonk native, is currently a parochial vicar at St. Mary Parish in Mansfield.

The new appointments were made by the Most Rev. George Coleman, bishop of Fall River, in consultation with the diocesan personnel committee. The changes are effective June 25.

Frechette, 52, was previously assigned to St. Mark's Parish from 1996 to 1999, during which time he also served for a year as chaplain of Bishop Feehan High School. Since he left St. Mark's, Frechette has been stationed at a number of parishes, most recently St. Francis Xavier Parish in Hyannis. He also served as the Fall River Diocese's director of family ministry.

Rita, 63, who has been St. Mark Parish's pastor since June 2005, was previously assigned to St. Mary's Parish in Seekonk from 1987 to 1993. He has served at a number of other parishes and children's homes, as well, and also spent more than a decade as head of the Pro-Life Apostolate of the Diocese of Fall River.

Priests are usually reassigned in the late spring because June is when pastoral retirements take effect and new priests are ordained, diocesan spokesman John Kearns said. It's also after the annual first communion and confirmation Masses have been celebrated, he added.

A priest is assigned to a number of different parishes, Kearns said, in order "to give him experience in different kinds of parishes and sometimes other ministries," as well as with a variety of fellow priests.

TED NESI can be reached at tnesi@thesunchronicle.com or 508-236-0333.