Welcome to St. Margaret Mary Parish Father Peter!

About Our New Pastor

Father Peter Sarnicki was born on August 28, 1968 in Przemysl, in Southeastern Poland. He graduated from Immaculate Conception High School in 1986. After high school, he entered the Franciscan order. There he entered the Franciscan Seminary in Krakow. He was ordained in 1994. For two years he served as an associate at Blessed Holy Mother Sanctuary in Rychwald near Zywiec, Poland. Afterwards he was a pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Bratislava, Slowakia for seven years. He then moved to Levoca, for one year as a guardian for the Franciscan community there. In 2004 he came to St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Rockford (click here for the St. Stanislaus Kostka web site), first as an associate and then was named Pastor in 2005. On July 1, 2011, Father Peter will become the new Pastor of St. Margaret Mary Parish in Algonquin, Illinois.

In Father Peter's Words

A LETTER TO HIS NEW ST. MARGARET MARY PARISHIONERS
(FROM THE PARISH BULLETIN OF JULY 3, 2011)

My Dear Friends,

Peace and Goodness to all of you my new parish family of Saint Margaret Mary in Algonquin. My name is Father Peter Sarnicki and I am a member of the Conventual Franciscan Order of Krakow Province in Poland. I was born on August 28th in 1968 in Przemysl, which is located on the South East side of Poland. I have two older brothers Adam, Andrzej (Andy), and sister Malgosia (Margaret). They have their own families and all live in Poland. My Father is 85 and he is in good health living also in Poland. My mother passed away ten years ago at the age of 73.

After I graduated from Immaculate Mary High School, I entered the Franciscan Order, where I received my religious and priestly formation. In 1994, I graduated from the Pope’s Theological University in Krakow where I obtained a Master Degree in Theology. In that same year, I was ordained a priest in the Basilica of Saint Francis in Krakow on June 18th. After my ordination, I worked for two years in Poland in our Franciscan Parish in Rychwald. My superiors then sent me to Bratislava which is the capital city of Slovak Republic, where together with my friars, we were taking care of a very big parish of Saint Michael the Archangel. After a few years I became the pastor of that parish where we built a new church with a pastoral center and Franciscan friary.

On August 10th in 2004, I came to the United States and was assigned to the Franciscan parish of Saint Stanislaus Kostka in Rockford, Illinois as an associate priest. I attended ESL classes in Rockford College for almost two years. On August 2005 I was appointed pastor of Saint Stanislaus Church where I spent the last six years.

I am very pleased that together with my Franciscan Friars, Father Darek Barna (whom you already know), and Father Peter Tymko we will serve you here in Saint Margaret Mary. It will not be easy for us especially in the beginning. We will need time to know the parish and people, and also you need the time to know us. As you know all three of us were born in Poland, so I ask you please be patient with us, as English is our second language.

Friars from our Franciscan province work in many countries throughout the world and it is common for us to work with peoples of different languages, cultures, and nationalities. Here at Saint Margaret Mary Parish, there are three ethnic groups: English, Filipino and Polish and we will serve all of them to the best of our ability.

I would like to thank Monsignor Michael Tierney who was your pastor for the last 18 years for the great job he did while he was here. He also was very kind to me and my friars and helped us make the transition easy. I have also met with the parish staff and I’m grateful for their kindness and openness towards me.

My dear friends, I look forward to working with you and I keep all of you in my prayers. May God’s grace and his love fill our hearts. God bless you.

With Franciscan greeting “Peace and Goodness”
Father Peter Sarnicki OFM. Conv

 

A LETTER TO HIS ST. STANISLAUS KOSTKA PARISHIONERS (EXCERPTED FROM THE ST. STANISLAUS PARISH BULLETIN OF JUNE 19, 2011)

As I have announced a few weeks ago, I will change the place of my priestly and Franciscan service. God’s providence, expressed in the decisions of my religious superiors and in the decision of Bishop Doran, is sending me to St. Margaret Mary Parish in Algonquin. On July 1, 2011, I will be Pastor of this church. In my work there I will not be alone. Two more Franciscan friars will join me in Algonquin: Fr. Darek Barna, who already is there, and Fr. Peter Tymko, who will come there on Sept. 1st after he finishes his service as Chaplain at our Franciscan University in Washington D.C. We will work there together as a Franscian community.

Your new Pastor at St. Stanislaus parish will be Fr. Edward Staniukiewicz, who was the associate Priest in Algonquin for the last 6 years. Many of you have known Fr. Edward and you already like him. I think that your cooperation with him will be very good and it will bring new and blessed fruits into the life of the parish.

My dear friends, it has been almost 7 years since I came to the U.S. and to Rockford. I remember that day very well—it was on August 10, 2004. Fr. Luke Poczworowski, who was at that time the pastor of St. Anthony Parish, picked me up from O’Hare Airport and brought me to St. Stan’s. Fr. John Mikula was my first pastor and guardian in America. He helped me a lot and I pray for him, “May the Good Lord reward him with everlasting life”. My beginning here was very nice and good, but not easy. I had to learn English. I had to come to know the new reality of life here, to learn a new culture and new customs. I also had to learn about the life of the Church in the United States, which is different than the life of the Church in Poland or Slovakia, where I worked before I arrived in America. After one year I was assigned as Pastor when Fr. John retired. During my time as pastor here we have done a good job together. We multiplied all the goodness you did, together with the previous pastors. Also, with God’s grace and help we did some new projects, which I believe improved our life as a Parish family. I would like to thank each and every one of you for your kindness and openness towards me. I carry all of you in my heart and I pray to God for you. May the Good Lord who knows the best of our hearts reward you with joy and peace. Saying thank you I also feel a deep need to say: “Forgive me for all that was not OK.” I realize my human weakness and imperfection, which is the reason that sometimes you were not satisfied with me. I am also very grateful to those who in such moments were very honest with me and they told me face to face what they didn’t like. The constructive criticism always helps.

At the end I would like to ask you for what we all need the most, prayer. Please pray for me, that the Good Lord will lead me and help me in my further priestly and Franciscan life in Algonquin and wherever else He may send me.

Peace and Goodness,
Fr. Peter Sarnicki OFM. Conv

Welcome to the St. Margaret Mary Parish Family Father Peter!