Priests Celebrating 25 Years of Service to God and the Church

Father Mark F. Kehoe marked his 25th anniversary as a priest on May 29. After serving as parochial victor at five parishes, he was appointed administrator in 2018 before being installed as pastor in 2021 by Bishop James F. Checchio at St. Lawrence Parish, Laurence Harbor.

Born in Bristol, Pa., to Jerome P. Kehoe Sr. and Marian A. Kehoe, Father Kehoe was raised in Pennsylvania, where he attended Catholic schools throughout his entire education. After graduating from St. Mark Ephrem School, Bristol, he attended Bishop Egan High School, Fairless Hills.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Religious Studies at Holy Family College, Philadelphia. After college, Father Kehoe taught at Catholic high schools in the Philadelphia area. He also worked for The Trentonian newspaper in Trenton.

In 1995, having discerned that the Lord was calling him to the priesthood, he entered Holy Apostles Seminary, Cromwell, NY, where he earned a Master of Divinity Degree. Father Kehoe was ordained in May1999 to the priesthood by the late Bishop Vincent De Paul Breen at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen.

Father Kehoe said his most memorable moments as a priest have been when, “comforting and anointing those who are sick and dying. These can be very sad moments, but they are also edifying to a priest.”

When asked about challenges he has faced as a priest, Father Kehoe responded “trying to do the right thing all the time and understanding people the best you can.” When asked about his decision to join the priesthood he said, “Obviously your family is the one that helps you form ideas and then after a while you just stay with God the best you can. He will let you know what he wants you to,” adding that becoming a priest “is really what God wants you to do.”

“Obviously, we (himself and God)were in sync at that very moment,” he said, for him to become a priest. “(There is) that one moment that you [get] called and you just have to go by faith after that.”

He said for someone considering a priestly vocation, “obviously you have to pray” about it. He said he would direct them to the Diocesan vocation director. “I can encourage them, but once they get into the formation (process for the priesthood) they should follow that, “he said.
Father Kehoe said someone considering a priestly vocation thinks about this decision in grade school, high school and college. And then, “maybe you will have a crisis of faith and God calls you to the priesthood.”

He acknowledged that as pastor at St. Lawrence Parish, where he is the only assigned priest, it is important that he listens to his parishioners. He said a pastor must work to form a parish the way the Catholic Church wants it to be formed by using “common sense” and not to rely on personal opinion.

Prior to his assignment at St. Lawrence Parish, Father Kehoe served as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Peace Parish, Fords, from 1999-2001; parochial vicar at Sts. Philip and James Parish, Phillipsburg, from 2001-2005; parochial vicar at St. John the Evangelist Parish, Lambertville, from 2005-2006, Our Lady of Fatima. Piscataway, and St. Mary’s Parish, Alpha.

By Paul J. Peyton



 
Father Slawomir Romanowski, 52 years old, has served God’s people in several countries during his 25 years as a Redemptorist priest, an order dedicated to missionary work. His greatest hope, he said, is “to bring more people to God!”

Father Romanowski, the oldest of three children, was born in Tarnow, Poland, to Krystyna and the late Jozef Romanowski. His mother lives in Nowa Jastrzabka. His brother, Wieslaw, lives in the United States, and his sister, Bar-bara, resides in Nowa Jastrzabka. Father Romanowski said his family “is proud of my vocation.”

He attended elementary school in Nowa Jastrzabka and high school in Tarnow. Father Romanowski entered the Seminary of the Redemptorists in Krakow in 1992, earning a Master’s degree in moral theology. In 1995, he made his first vows to The Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, and in1998, he professed his final vows. At the Basilica of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Tuchow, Poland, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1999 by Bishop Tadeusz Goclowski.

His first assignment as an associate pastor was in Our Lady of Consolation Parish in Wroclaw, Poland, from 1999to 2002. Father Romanowski served as associate pastor in the Basilica of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Tuchow from 2002 to 2005. He was the associate pastor in Holy Cross Parish in Christiansted, the United States Virgin Islands, from 2006 to 2009.

From 2009 to 2016, Father Romanowski served as associate pastor of Christ the Redeemer Parish, Manville. He ministered to Polish immigrants as associate pastor at the Parish of St. Annin Copenhagen, Denmark, from 2016 to2019, and was appointed pastor of St. John Paul II Parish in Perth Amboy in2019, where he currently serves.

Father Romanowski feels that consecrating the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus, absolving penitents of their sins, and “having many brothers and sisters around the world” are the most rewarding aspects of being a priest. At St. John Paul II Parish, daily Confession is offered before every Mass. Father Romanowski said that Redemptorist priests always make Confession readily available and evangelize by preaching.

Redemptorists foster devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help who is their Patroness. There is a weekly novena to her at St. John Paul II Parish and a daily recitation of the Rosary. Father Romanowski said, “We all have to understand that she is our Mother. Without her inter-cession, we can do nothing. I hope more people will get this idea.”

St. John Paul II Parish is multilingual with Masses in English, Polish, Spanish and Portuguese. Father Romanowski explained that he meets this challenge by “trying to be as flexible as I can.”

He said, “For most of the years of my priesthood, I have served abroad, far from my family and my country. I think this is my biggest accomplishment because it is not easy.”

Father Romanowski quoted St. John Paul II in advising someone considering a vocation to the priesthood: “Don’t be afraid! If you hear His voice– follow Him.”

By Marianne Komek



 
 
Father Stanislaw Slaby, pastor of Christ the Redeemer Parish in Manville, celebrated his 25th anniversary to the priesthood on May 22.

He was born in Zeleznikowa Wiel-ka, a village in southern Poland, to Jozef and Emilia Slaby. One of 10 children, he and two brothers, Jozef and Maciej, are members of the Redemptorist order. Józef is bishop of the territorial prelature of Esquel, Argentina.

Father Slaby entered the Pontifical Academy of Theology, Rome, a
nd then the Major Seminary of Redemptorists in 1992 and professed his final vows to the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, or the Redemptorists, in 1998.He was ordained into the priesthood on May 22, 1999.

He served as assistant priest at Most Holy Redeemer Parish in Szczecin, Poland, from 1999 to 2005, and was reassigned to Saint Lucia in the Vir-gin Islands, where he was appointed assistant priest at Holy Cross Parish in the town of Desruisseaux. He was named pastor there in 2006 and served at that parish until his assignment to Christ the Redeemer Parish in 2009.

Father Slaby credits his faith to his parents, who were strong in their Catholic devotion, and said his home parish in Poland had lots of vocations.“

Any serious vocation is an import-ant thing, both a joy and a heavy weight, especially today, as we fight an uphill battle, which we are losing,” Father Sla-by said. “So a holy priest is a treasure. Apriest’s life is like a chasuble: The priest is bigger than that, always bigger than we are.”

As for new priests, he advises not to be afraid. “If God called you for it, go for it. Don’t let the world discourage you,” he said.

He says that a vocation is like a marriage between husband and wife, only it is between the priest and God, and the people, who must work to make a vocation successful.

“Take your time,” he counsels,” and seek God’s will. Talk to others for guidance, for the voice of God. As St. Paul says, ‘God’s grace will suffice,’ and ‘I can do all in God Who strengthens me.’”

Father Slaby reflected on his Manville parish. “I’m certain that the ‘hand of God’ is real, and it will take you where you should be even if you are afraid. Do your best and trust God.”
He was sent from Poland to study English in New York, after which he was assigned to Saint Lucia.

“It was not my decision to leave Poland,” he said. “My superiors considered it a need here. God works in mysterious ways. I never thought I would work overseas. I never had the courage and strength, but time, trust in myself, and God made it work.

“Just like those with new vocations or those trying to discern one, do not seek fruits just after planting. Many decades may be needed to appreciate avocation, both its positive and negative aspects,” he said

“But God’s providence will always provide. Good people in the parish will always help. I am grateful to them. Both my critics and my supporters were essential. They all helped me fulfill my vocation.”

By Robert Christie



 
“With God’s grace and through the ministry of a priest, I am able to administer the Sacraments to God’s people,” said Father Peter Tran, as he celebrates his silver jubilee as a priest. “My motto is ‘My vocation is Love. (St. Therese of Lisieux).”

Father Tran told The Catholic Spirit he became a priest because he “desired to serve God and his people through the priestly ministry.”

Father Tran attended elementary and high school at Tan Hiep in Vietnam before arriving in the United States in1990 and was a seminarian at Seton Hall University’s St. Andrew College Semi-nary, South Orange, from 1991-1995,where he received a degree in religious studies and philosophy.

He entered Immaculate Conception Seminary in 1999, where he garnered his Master of Divinity Degree. He was ordained into the priest-hood in the Cathedral Basilica of the Sa-cred Heart, Newark, in the Archdiocese of Newark.

Father Tran served as parochial vicar at St. Theresa Parish, Kenilworth, from 1999-2000; parochial vicar at St. John the Baptist Parish, Jersey City, from 2000-2008, and parochial vicar at St. James Parish, Woodbridge, from2008-2012. While at St. James, he was chaplain to the parish’s Vietnamese community. Father Tran was parochial vicar of Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish, South Plainfield, from 2012-2015.

When asked what his biggest challenge as a priest has been he responded: “To be able to support both the American and Vietnamese communities to continue to grow and flourish together, to be their best, while passing on down the beauty and uniqueness of each heritage.”

Father Tran was elevated to administrator of Our Lady of Czestochowa, in 2015 and served in that role until his installation as the parish’s fifth pastor by the Bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen, James F. Checchio, on Oct. 29, 2017, with several hundred parishioners in attendance for the Mass and reception that followed.

Father Tran also serves as coordinator of the Diocese’s Vietnamese Apostolate.
He acknowledged his ministry as a pastor witnessing two unique, flourishing communities working together, includes nurturing the “presence and active participation of the multigeneration faith-filled communities in the United States.”

Father Tran said his hopes for the future are, “That we remain open to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, to love God and all his people as God has loved us.”

By Paul J. Peyton



Father Andrzej Wieliczko credits a fellow Polish native who happened to become a modern-day saint for inspiring him to become a priest.

Growing up in central Poland, Father Wieliczko said St. John Paul II, who was elected pope in 1978, when Father Wielicako was around 7 years old, used his influence as leader of the world’s Catholics to help the former Soviet-dominated country gain political and religious freedom.

“He was a great inspiration, not only for me, but for all Poles and, as we know, many people in the world,” said Father Wieliczko, who is celebrating his25th anniversary this year of his Ordination.

The pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Helmetta recalled encountering Pope John Paul II soon after his 1999 ordination to the priesthood.

“I met him in a private audience, “Father Wieliczko said. “I told him that I was just ordained. He raised his arm and looked at me deeply and said, ‘I bless your priesthood in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.’

“Even now I have goosebumps. It meant everything to me. It was an amazing encounter with the pope; now I can say I met a saint in my life.” Pope John Paul, who died in 2005, was canonized a saint April 27, 2014.

Father Wieliczko (pronounced WE-les-ko) felt a need to pursue the role of a religious while studying theology at Catholic University of Lublin, Poland, which was later named for Pope John Paul II. But he credited a love of Holy Communion and the Mass for leading him to pursue the seminary.

“Something happened at the end of high school,” he said. “I discovered the beauty and mystery of the Eucharist.”

He said he was an altar server growing up but not devoted in his youth. “I preferred soccer than to go to Mass.” But as he grew, he became more devoted to attending daily liturgy and receiving the sacrament.

“It just naturally developed,” Father Wieliczko said. “In high school I just loved to go to Mass and it was very important in my life, the real presence of God and to be so close to Him in the Eucharist.”

He advises someone who is considering entering religious life to “just grow after the call. “It’s not an easy vocation,” he said. “I think it never was. But it’s a beautiful vocation, to give people the words of the Gospel, to share with people the living words of the Gospel, which are the loving words of God, and to share with them through the sacraments, to share with them the presence of the Lord.”

Father Wieliczko, a diocesan priest, has been pastor at Holy Trinity since2017 and previously served two years there as parish administrator. He first came to the Camden Diocese before serving in the Metuchen Diocese at the request of retired Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski, who was seeking clergy of Polish background to serve that particular apostolate. Nine parishes have Polish liturgies including Holy Trinity, of whom about half its parishioners are of Polish descent, said Father Wieliczko.

He has also served at the following other parishes: St. Stanislaus Kostka and Our Lady of Victories, both in Sayreville; St. Patrick in Belvidere; St. Maryin Bound Brook; and Sacred Heart in South Plainfield.

By Anthony Salamone