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Ordinations

On Saturday, August 17th, my Bishop Ordinary, the Rt Rev. Bernard Nowicki conferred tonsure, minor orders, and the sub- diaconate on Mr. Anthony Prince of Holy Cross Parish in Syracuse, NY; tonsure, minor orders, the sub-diaconate, and the ordination to the diaconate of Rev. Mr. Michel Seward of St. John the Baptist Parish in Hazelton, PA; ordination to the diaconate of Rev. Mr. Donald Wunderlich of Heart of Jesus Parish in Bayonne, NJ. Holy Mass and these ordinations took place at Holy Mother of Sorrows Parish in DuPont, PA. The liturgies, Holy Mass, and music were beautiful and so meaningful. I welcome and congratulate my brother deacons and sub-deacon.

The prayer of our bishop and the laying on of hands – conferring the Holy Spirit is more than words and gestures; it is the power of grace in our lives and Jesus’ continuing ministry among us through His ordained ministers – who baptize, who proclaim the gospel, who fulfill their sacred ministry. Please pray for Don, Michael and Anthony as they go forth to carry out their ministries among us. Also pray for more vocations so God’s Holy Church may have the workers it needs.

Events, PNCC, , ,

Bishop elect Nowicki takes helm of the Central Diocese

From the Times-Tribune: New bishop to take helm of local Polish National Catholic diocese

The region’s Polish National Catholics will have a new diocesan bishop this fall.

Bishop elect Rev. Bernard NowickiBishop-elect Bernard Nowicki assumed administrative leadership of the Central Diocese on Wednesday and will be consecrated as bishop and officially installed in the new post on Friday, Sept. 14.

The diocese, which stretches from Maryland to New York, is the denomination’s largest. As bishop, the Rev. Nowicki will also be pastor of the denomination’s mother church, St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Cathedral in Scranton.

The Rev. Nowicki was elected bishop at a special synod held in Scranton in June, when he and Bishop-elect Stanley Bilinski were both voted into the office. The Rev. Bilinski will be bishop of the Chicago-based Western Diocese. The Rev. Nowicki assumes the Central Diocese post from Bishop John Mack, who has been bishop of the diocese for the past 18 months and was reassigned to his home Buffalo-Pittsburgh Diocese.

The Rev. Nowicki, a longtime pastor at a church in Bayonne, N.J., studied at Savonarola Theological Seminary in Scranton, and his wife is a native of Dupont.

Prime Bishop Anthony Mikovsky said the Rev. Nowicki will likely move to the area in late September or early October.

“He’s a very well-respected priest in the church,” he said. “He has a wonderful education.”

Prime Bishop Mikovsky also said he is excited by the number of new bishops across the church.

“A lot of the church has new leadership,” he said, “and there is a lot of excitement with new leadership.”

Events, PNCC, ,

The lnstallation of the Eighth Bishop Ordinary of the Central Diocese

The lnstallation of the Rt. Rev. John Mack as Eighth Bishop Ordinary of the Central Diocese and Pastor of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop & Martyr Cathedral will take place on Sunday, June 5th.

The Holy Rite of lnstallation will be celebrated during a Holy Mass scheduled for 4 pm. A celebratory reception will be held in the Cathedral Youth Center following Holy Mass.

Bishop Mack has been serving as Bishop Ordinary since February 1, 2011.

Please join in formally welcoming Bishop Mack by your presence, and if unable to attend, through your prayers.

Update from the Scranton Times Tribune: New bishop to be installed Sunday in Polish National Catholic diocese

The new bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church’s Central Diocese will be installed during a Mass at St. Stanislaus Cathedral on Sunday, four months after he assumed the post in Scranton.

The Right Rev. John Mack became bishop of the denomination’s largest diocese on Feb. 1 when he arrived in a snowstorm from his previous assignment as auxiliary bishop in the Buffalo-Pittsburgh Diocese.

The installation ceremony will officially mark the start of a new era in the diocese under its eighth bishop.

“The work has gone on before – you were on the job already – but now it is official,” Bishop Mack said.

Bishop Mack was selected for the post after the diocese’s previous bishop, the Most Rev. Anthony Mikovsky, was elected Prime Bishop last fall. Bishop Mack is also pastor of St. Stanislaus Cathedral, the denomination’s mother church.

Sunday’s ceremony will draw parishioners and more than 30 priests from across the diocese, which stretches from New York to Maryland. Bishops and pastors from other Polish National Catholic dioceses and other denominations also are expected to attend.

“It’s a time for the diocese to come together and celebrate,” Bishop Mack said.

The Mass will begin at 4 p.m. and will be followed by a reception in the parish youth center.

Current Events, PNCC,

Meet my Bishop

My new diocesan bishop, the Rt. Rev. John E. Mack, took the helm of the Central Diocese of the PNCC, as well as the mother church of the PNCC, St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Cathedral, on February 1, 2011.

Bishop Mack has served for the past four years as the auxiliary bishop of the Buffalo-Pittsburgh Diocese and has been longtime pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Washington, Pennsylvania.

Bishop Mack was born and raised in the Polish National Catholic Church in the greater Detroit area and attended Savonarola Theological Seminary in Scranton.

Bishop Mack and his wife Sherry have three children, aged 17, 20 and 23.

May God grant him many years. Welcome and Sto Lat! Bishop Mack.

Christian Witness, PNCC, , ,

Meet my new Bishop

From the Times-Tribune: Central Diocese of Polish National Catholic Church to welcome new bishop in February

The Central Diocese of the Polish National Catholic Church and its mother cathedral, St. Stanislaus in South Scranton, will welcome a new bishop and pastor on Feb. 1.

Bishop John Mack has served for the past four years as the auxiliary bishop of the Buffalo-Pittsburgh Diocese and has been a pastor in Western Pennsylvania for two decades.

The current bishop of the Central Diocese, the Most Rev. Anthony Mikovsky, was elected Prime Bishop of the church in October, leaving a vacancy at the head of the diocese that stretches from Maryland to New York. Bishop Mack was assigned to take his place at the end of the denomination-wide synod in October.

He will take charge of what he notes is the largest parish and the largest diocese in the denomination.

“It’s quite daunting,” he said.

Bishop Mack was born and raised in the Polish National Catholic Church in the greater Detroit area and attended Savonarola Theological Seminary in Scranton.

Although he has never served as a pastor in the Central Diocese, Bishop Mack said the relatively small size of the Polish National Catholic Church and the frequency with which people throughout the denomination meet at events means he knows at least a few families here.

“Our church, in its smallness, it has a family feel to it because you get to meet people from all around the denomination when you go to various national events,” he said. “You keep these friends through all the years.”

Because Scranton was the site of the denomination’s break from the Roman Catholic Church and its founding as a new church, parishioners here tend to have an acute sense of the denomination’s first principles, including its democratic structure, he said.

“Many of those parishioners, their grandparents, great-grandparents, great-great-grandparents, were some of the founding members of the first parish,” he said, “so there’s a heightened awareness there of the overall purpose of our denomination, why it began.”

As he prepares for his new role and its spiritual challenges, Bishop Mack has also had to adapt to the earthly logistics of a 300-mile move after decades in the same region.

Priests in the Polish National Catholic Church can marry and Bishop Mack and his wife have three children, aged 17, 20 and 23. In his other fatherly role, Bishop Mack was faced with how to let his 17-year-old son stay in the Pittsburgh area with his 23-year-old sister while he finishes high school.

“That’s one of the things that was the most difficult, and I’m still feeling that a bit in the pit of my stomach,” he said.

Having to make such hard family choices can help the denomination’s priests connect to parishioners who face similar struggles.

“You have a great deal of empathy for them when you’ve been through some of the sleepless nights, and little ones, middle-aged ones and teenagers,” he said. “You have, what do they call that, battle experience?”

Events, PNCC, , ,

Of scholarships and auctions – around the Central Diocese

Edwardsville, PA: Congratulations to Juliann Perikonis, Diminik Tarnawczyk and Larry Mazurek, recent recipients of the Lawrence Reilly Jr. and Lawrence Reilly Sr. scholarships presented at The Resurrection of The Lord P.N.C.C., Edwardsville. The three members of the parish and youth group wrote essays about their academics, sports, hobbies and participation with the church and youth group, as per the requirements set forth by the Lawrence Reilly family. The scholarships were presented by Robert Albee. Perikonis was the senior high school winner; Tarnawczyk was the junior high winner; and Mazurek was the elementary winner.

Shenandoah, PA: Holy Ghost Polish National Catholic Church, 28 N. Chestnut Street, will hold a Chinese auction, Sunday, September 12th at the church. Doors will open at noon. Admission is $3. Light refreshments will be available. Everyone is welcome. Proceeds will benefit the church.

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