Annual Priest Convocation: A time for growing in fellowship, prayer, and wisdom

Clergy from throughout the Diocese of Metuchen gathered to refresh body and soul while celebrating their fraternal bonds during the priest convocation held Oct. 15-17 in The Breakers on the Ocean, Spring Lake. The convocation addressed both the spiritual and the sacred, with the priests participating in Morning and Evening Prayer, Eucharistic Adoration and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. 

Bishop James F. Checchio concelebrated Thursday afternoon Mass in the town’s St. Catharine Church, with the jubilarians of the Diocese. Honored during the Mass for their 25 years in the priesthood were Father Mark Kehoe, St. Lawrence Parish, Laurence Harbor; Father Slawomir Romanowski, St. John Paul II Parish, Perth Amboy; Father Stanislaw Slaby, Christ the Redeemer Parish, Manville; Father Peter Tran, Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish, South Plainfield, and Father Andrzej Wieliczko, Holy Trinity Parish, Helmetta. Father Robert Lynam of St. Augustine of Canterbury, Kendall Park, was recognized for his 40 years of priestly service.

Celebrating 50 years as a priest were Father Joseph Desmond, retired; Father Joseph Kubiak, St. Helena Parish, Edison; Msgr. Richard Lyons, St. Joseph Parish, North Plainfield, and Father John Stec, St. Mary of Czestochowa Parish, Bound Brook.

Retired priest Father John Polyak marked 55 years since his ordination, and three retired priests were recognized for their 60 years of ministry: Father Charles Kelly, Msgr. Eugene Prus, and Father Stanley Walega.



Interview with jubilarian Father Stanley J. Walega about the Priest Convocation
Interviewed by Msgr. Joseph Curry, pastor, Mary Mother of God Parish, Hillsborough. 

Father Stanley Walega, a retired priest of the Diocese, is celebrating his 60th anniversary of Ordination to the priesthood this year.

He reflected on his gratitude for his priesthood and how happy it has made him. He talked about people from Poland, sharing with him the experience of having the public practice of their faith taken away from them and when it was returned, how happy they were and how they traveled great distances to attend the Mass.

Reflecting on the priest convocation this year, Father Walega said, “I am happy to attend, because it builds fellowship among our diocesan family of which I am so grateful to be a part!”

He said, “The speaker touched my heart and mind, and I look forward to receiving transcripts of his talks to go over them.”

He mentioned how wonderful it was to be with priests of all different ages and how good it was to get to know each other, He shared how impressed he is with the younger priests and their love of the Lord.

Father Walega believes the priesthood has given him an opportunity to help others follow the Church’s teachings and advises new priests not to get discouraged. He said that sometimes the challenges of the priesthood can cause impatience, but in the long run, it’s worth it, even to save one soul.

Still today, Father Walega loves to preach about the priesthood and encouraging young men to find the joy he has found. The convocation is one opportunity to share that joy with his brother priests.

He summed it all up with, “I love the priesthood!”



Priest convocation a time to savor walking with brothers on the journey to God
By Father Jose Lim, Special Contributor

Being a new priest is an experience that is both intimidating at times as well as incredibly humbling. Whether it be walking into the home of a sick parishioner, encountering a new parish with its various blessings and challenges, or learning from my pastor the tricks of the trade on how to live the day-to-day life of a priest in the field of ministry of souls, being a priest has been a whirlwind of learning new things.  One of those new things is learning about the presbyterate itself and spending time with other priests – and the annual diocesan priestly convocation is a beautiful opportunity for that.

The convocation, held every year, is a time where all the priests of the Diocese of Metuchen are encouraged to come and enjoy time together, share meals, celebrate Mass and pray together as brothers.  In attendance were priests from all the different areas of our diocese, from different assignments ranging from responsibilities in the local hospitals and nursing homes to the diocesan center in Piscataway, and coming from various countries such as Poland, the Philippines and Colombia, just to name a few.  

There were priests who had over 40 years of pastoral experience, and there were also the new guys having only been ordained for a few months and just beginning this journey of priesthood. In short, it was a rare opportunity for the entirety of our presbyterate to come together as a brotherhood of priests.

For me as a recently ordained priest, it was an encouraging and refreshing time away to be around my diocesan brothers, share about how things were going in our various assignments and responsibilities, and to encourage each other for the road ahead.  It was also a unique opportunity to learn from more experienced priests about what this life entails, and reminded me that as long as I live, in many ways I’ll be a student.  

When I was a nurse, learning from the experience of the older staff on the unit was not only essential to safe practice, but it helped form me as a healthcare professional in how I interacted with my patients, prioritized my workload, and how to see the big picture in ways that I just didn’t know how. 

Although my textbooks and lab experiences were important for my foundation, it was learning in real time from the seasoned doctors and nurses where the lion’s share of learning came to fruition.  I would venture to say that life as a young priest has many experiences like this – learning from my more experienced brothers in order to perform better my little part in this big spiritual hospital that is the Church. And there’s always going to be more to learn.

A particularly touching moment during the convocation was the memorial slideshow on the final day we were together, during which the names and photos of all the deceased priests of our Diocese were shown. For me, many of these men were simply names and maybe a story or two. But for many of the priests sitting around me that morning, these priests shown on that screen were old pastors, first assignments, mentors, friends, and above all – brother priests sharing this mission of sharing the good news of Christ wherever we might go.  

It was an incredibly moving experience and made me incredibly grateful to God and to His Church to be part of this presbyterate.  Spending time together at this convocation helped me to experience the blessings of simply being with my brothers, to enjoy a good meal and plenty of laughter, to pray alongside them at Mass, and to savor walking this journey with them on the road back to the Father.

Father Jose Lim serves as parochial vicar in Immaculate Conception Parish, Annandale.