Polish priest makes Worcester Diocese his 'second home'

By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press

He has come here for his vacations – to fill in for local priests, so they can go on vacation!
He has freed a priest here for specialized ministry, and offered his own special services at the Chancery.
And he does it with a smile.
Coming here helped him too – to get his doctorate and give Pope Francis his published thesis. He even told the pope about his connections here.
Father Grzegorz Zielinski, a priest of the Diocese of Radom, Poland, tells this story of his activities, giving thanks to Bishop McManus and priests and other friends here, “because … I feel that the United States … Worcester Diocese, is my second home.”
He’s just left this “second home” – again – to return to work in his native Poland.
Father Zielinski said he first came to the United States in 2009. Father Krzysztof Korcz, who’d been his associate pastor when he was a teenager in Poland, informed him of a need here. (Father Korcz, originally a priest of the Diocese of Radom, has since been incardinated into the Worcester Diocese and is now pastor of St. Andrew Bobola Parish in Dudley.)
Father Zielinski said he came for about a month in 2009 so another Polish priest of the Worcester Diocese, Father Tomasz J. Borkowski, could take a vacation. (Father Borkowski is now pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Whitinsville.)
“I really liked the United States and the American culture,” Father Zielinski said. He said it was always his dream to study in the United States.
In 2012 and 2013 he returned to the Worcester Diocese, covered for Father Korcz, and worked on his English.
While here, Father Zielinski met Father James A. Houston, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish in Northborough. Father Houston invited him to stay in his rectory while pursuing studies here, which he did from 2014 to 2016.
“He helped me to contact people from Boston College Law School, where I received professional guidance in the field of human rights and international law,” Father Zielinski said. “And I completed my Ph.D. studies at Boston College Law School on the topic of The Right to Freedom of Belief.”
He had started his doctoral studies at The Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, and actually got his doctorate from there.
While in the Worcester Diocese, he helped Father Korcz, Father Borkowski and Father Houston with Masses and worked in the tribunal in the Chancery.
“He’s known for his smile,” Father Houston said of Father Zielinski. “He wakes up with a smile on his face. When people compliment him, he says, ‘I can’t help it; it comes from God.’ He’s a breath of fresh air. And it’s a very nice experience to have priests from abroad, because it is a universal Church.”
In February 2016 Father Zielinski returned to Rome and defended his thesis, which is written in English, at Lateran University.
“The university elected this thesis the best in 2016,” he said. He said they published it, as they usually do each year with the one they choose as best.
“They spread this book across the world to universities connected with the Lateran University,” he said. “People use it for research.”
In September 2016 he returned to Poland, where he’s an assistant professor in the law department at Kazimierz Pulaski University of Technology and Humanities in Radom, and a judge in the diocese’s tribunal.
Father Korcz said he brought another priest-student from Poland after Father Zielinski finished his studies here.
“I want to help students,” he explained. “They have a different experience here.”
And they help him by filling in for him. When his mother died, Father Michal Jedrzejski did just that. He came back last summer, and is to return next summer, Father Korcz said.  
Meanwhile, Father Zielinski has been using his knowledge. He said he went to Rome last November for a conference about new canon law norms. Participants each got to shake Pope Francis’ hand.
“I gave him my book,” and spoke to him in Italian, he said. “I told him that book is the fruit of my studies on the topic of religious freedom. I told him I know that topic is close to his heart. He blessed me and he thanked me. He was very open and happy. … I was very happy. … I told him I am connected with the Worcester Diocese.”
But Central Massachusetts is not what triggered the pope’s recognition, apparently. “He was smiling, hearing about Boston College, because he’s a Jesuit,” Father Zielinski said.
Pope Francis is the second pope Father Zielinski has met. He said when he was a seminarian, the seminarians met Pope John Paul II. He’d also attended one of the pope’s Masses.
In January this year Father Zielinski was back in the Worcester Diocese to cover for Father Houston while he served as chaplain for the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. He also helped in the tribunal. On Feb. 16 he returned to Poland.
Asked when he’ll be back, this adopted son of the diocese replied, “When I can and when they need me.”