No puppy, either.
It’s that time of year again when students return to the campus. Not only in our school, where the teachers have been working all week to prepare for Tuesday’s big First Day, but also in the rectory, where we have welcomed a new resident into our student priest suite.
You’ve seen his car in the carport for several weeks already; it’s the one with the Mississippi license plates. He left it here, along with his worldly possessions and school supplies, after driving two days from Laurel, Mississippi, offering Mass and taking a shower here, then almost immediately leaving again for Dulles airport, whence he flew to Poland to visit his family. Father Marcin Wiktor is a priest of the Diocese of Biloxi (the southern portion of Mississippi) who is beginning the course of study at Catholic University in, you guessed it, canon law. He is originally from Poland and moved to the United States when he began seminary formation. You will note he has an accent; it is up to you to determine whether it rings more of the southeastern US, or southeastern Poland.
You may recall that I was away for a week at the end of last month, visiting friends, family, and former resident priests around the near Midwest. I picked up no souvenirs but did bring home something I did not carry with me when I left: the promise of a new priest. The archdiocesan vicar for clergy called me while I was in Ohio to tell me we had been assigned a parochial vicar.
No, we are not getting a puppy. All the new ‘baby priests’ were parceled out two months ago. We are getting a veteran, eighteen years ordained. He is not from outside the archdiocese either; in fact, he grew up just north of here in Greater Silver Spring. He is not a stranger; more like a local celebrity. His parents have been here for Mass more often than not over the past few years; his sister got married here two years ago. Most likely you have heard of him: Father Larry Swink.
That he is coming here in late August is a clue that his move is out of the normal course of things. But he had to leave his previous assignment, as administrator of Annunciation Church in northwest DC, for the best reason possible, when the pastor suddenly returned. I am excited to have him around, as he has broad shoulders, not only literally but also pastorally, and the heart of a parish priest. He will be a boon to us all here for as long as he is with us. Never ask how long; nobody ever knows. He and I have known one another for a long time, and we are both pleased at the prospect of being together.
He is being an awfully good sport about things, too, as his move came out of the blue and brought him here at an unexpected time. Father Michael Novajosky is living in the parochial vicar’s rooms! So Fr. Swink will be camping in the guest room for several weeks.
Receiving new priests into one’s parish can bring both excitement and trepidation, even more so when they move into one’s home. But as we consider with some sadness the impending departure of Fr. Novajosky after three years here, we can recall that he was new here once, too, and none of us knew what to expect then. But look how great that worked out!
So for the next few weeks enjoy the benefits of a crowded rectory and welcome the new guys, Fr. Wiktor and Fr. Swink, as you enjoy and humor the familiar old guys. One of us is getting really old, but that is another story entirely. Despite the mayhem at this time of year, you make us all glad just to be here.
Monsignor Smith
