As we continue celebrating Spirit Week at St. Mary School Swormville, we are shining a spotlight on another very important member of our faith community, Father Walt Szczesny!
Father Walt was born on July 4th, and he comments that growing up he always thought that the Independence Day fireworks were for his Birthday! His hometown is Batavia, NY, and he attended Catholic Schools for the duration of his education, including Sacred Heart Grade School, Notre Dame High School, Wadhams Hall Seminary College, and Christ the King Seminary.
Father Walt has 5 siblings who he keeps in very close contact with, as well as corresponding with relatives overseas. Before feeling called to the priesthood, Father Walt taught Special Education to deaf and blind children for two years at the NY State School for the Blind in Batavia, and also worked for six years with the US Treasury Office both in Los Angeles, CA and Ithaca, NY. Father Walt was ordained a priest on 7/21/90, (34 years ago, this July)!
His previous assignments as a priest include: Immaculate Conception in East Aurora (4 years), Saints Peter & Paul in Hamburg (5 years), Faculty Member of Christ the King Seminary (7 years), Vocations Director for the Diocese of Buffalo ( 9 years), Pastor of Saint George in West Falls, Pastor of All Saints Church in Lockport (5 years), and Pastor of Our Lady of Peace in Clarence.
Father Walt's current additional assignments include:
Bishop’s Delegate for Priestly Life and Care,
Priest Personnel Board Member, Priest Council Member, Priest Retirement Board Member, Lay Pension Board Member, Chancery Curia Member, Chaplain of the Lockport Fire Department, and Chaplain of the Lockport Men and Women Ancient Order of Hibernians.
After that long list of additional assignments, we're not sure how Father Walt makes any time for hobbies, but when he can he enjoys reading, walking, hiking, bicycling, gardening, and traveling! Father Walt says he loves to travel, has been to Europe several times, and especially enjoys visiting relatives in Poland.
Father Walt's "list of favorites" includes History as his favorite subject in school, fish as his favorite food, ”Sunshine on my Shoulder” by John Denver as his favorite song, and Doctor Zhivago as his favorite movie. He currently has no pets, but did have a German Shepard dog as a child. Father Walt's favorite bible verse is Romans 8:28,
”To those who love God all things work together for good.”
Lastly, an amazing story that Father Walt shared with us touches on a specific trip to Rome that turned out to be very special:
"In 2000 I went to Rome, Italy and was at a Mass ( with 25 other people) with Pope John Paul II in his private Chapel. I con-celebrated the Mass with 5 other Priests and I was asked to read the Gospel. I was standing about 10 feet from the Pope as I read the Gospel. My knees were kind-of shaking a bit. During the Mass I drank from the same chalice as the Pope and after the Mass I had a chance to meet the Pope personally and talk with him one-on-one. I shook his hand and since he is now a Saint…… technically, my right hand is now classified as a “second-class” relic….. because it touched a Saint."
Thank you Father Walt for sharing such a wonderful story with us, and for sharing more about yourself! We are so thankful for your service to the Akron Clarence Roman Catholic Community!