School honors former pastor

By Tanya Connor  | The Catholic Free Press

WEBSTER – The former pastor received the award he established for others, and unveiled a plaque honoring him for a building he worked hard to erect. But he focused on the children, who greeted him warmly. And the bishop toured their classrooms, learning about their education from their teachers.
It was the kick-off for Catholic Schools Week for St. Joseph Elementary School, held Sunday at the school and St. Joseph Basilica.
At the Mass celebrated by Bishop McManus, Msgr. Anthony S. Czarnecki received the Partners in Education Award, which he established in 2003 to honor people who made an extra effort for the school. The pastor there since 1993, he retired last year.
Msgr. Czarnecki equipped the school with 21st century technology and had the “Richard A. Nowak Gymnasium and Daniel & Catherine Ivascyn Parish & Performing Arts Center” built, noted Beth Boudreau, director of advancement and facility manager.  
After Mass Msgr. Czarnecki unveiled a plaque over the gym which highlighted his accomplishments. Bishop McManus and present and prospective school families went to the school’s open house and speed painter Rob Surette put on his “Be Somebody” show, supported financially by Quail Services.
The Migration Week Mass opened Catholic Schools Week, said Father Grzegorz Chodkowski,
St. Joseph’s pastor. He said the flags students carried in procession, of the countries of their heritage, represent being united under one pastor – Christ. He told Bishop McManus, chief shepherd of the diocese, “We can follow you to Christ.”  
The Catholic Church in the United States celebrates National Migration Week to reflect on the circumstances of migrants, including immigrants and refugees, the website www.usccb.org says.
Bishop McManus preached about Migration Week, Catholic Schools Week and the Sunday of the Word of God, which Pope Francis set for the third Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Reflecting on the Word of God, we find out who we are, who God is and who Jesus is, the bishop said. Jesus preached about repenting and changing your life because God’s kingdom is at hand, he said; the Christian life is about turning from sin to God.
Bishop McManus noted how the day’s Gospel told of fishermen following Jesus, who began the Church “to which you and I have the great privilege to belong.”
Christ, the Word of God made flesh, is the reason for the school, he said. Catholic education is important, not only for a good education, but to answer the questions: “Where have I come from? Where am I going? How do I get there?” He said second-graders in Catholic school know the answer (God).
“You will not find the right answer to those questions in a public school,” the bishop said.
Speaking of Migration Week, he said Catholics throughout the world – all types of people – are united under Christ and the pope and with each other. There is one Lord, one faith and one baptism, and no one is excluded.
Father Chodkowski thanked the bishop for encouraging them and said the invisible heroes of the day were the school’s teachers, under the leadership of the principal, Michael Hackenson.
Mr. Hackenson and Felician Sister Jeanne Marie Akalski, fourth-grade teacher, went forward with the Partners in Education Award for Msgr. Czarnecki, which Bishop McManus presented to him.
Sister Jeanne read a tribute to Msgr. Czarnecki, saying he preserved and enhanced the school’s Catholic identity, and visited classrooms, sharing his faith. She said the gym and center will be a testament to his zeal for years to come.
Msgr. Czarnecki said Migration Week and Catholic Schools Week celebrated by the bishop were part of his ministry there, and included the presentation of this award. (He said later that he supervised Migration Week nationally when he worked for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.)
“The children are the reason why we are here,” he said. He spoke of “endless meetings” about Catholic identity and the latest technology. He called the children’s smiles and sometimes-silly questions an encouragement for him for many years and said the school thrives because they feel loved.
He expressed thanks for the honor, which he said “belongs to all of you,” and thanked the pastor, teachers, principal, former principal (Donald F. Cushing) and administrative board, who came together to make the school great.
Unveiling the plaque over the gym entrance, Msgr. Czarnecki recalled the enthusiasm of the children when they first went inside, and said the gym changed the parish and school.
He explained later that the children waited a long time to have their own gym, and, with it finally opening, the parish saw that nothing is impossible with God.
   
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