Tickets presale $9.00 adults – $5.00 children under 12 (add $1.00 day of dinner at door) can be purchased at the rectory.
This will give you an opportunity to meet and welcome Corpus Christi’s new Pastor, Father Matthew Wydmanski and new Assistant Pastor, Father Simon Shaner.
For more information, cal 716.896.1050.
Hope to see you there!
Read more about Father Matthew and Father Shaner after the jump.
Fr. Matthew Wydmanski, who arrived at Corpus Christi in December 2008 as Assistant Pastor, has been selected as Pastor to replace Fr. Anzelm Chalupka, who was recently reassigned to a parish in Yonkers, New York. Fr. Matthew was born in Sosnowiec, a town in the southern part of Poland near Katowice. He attended high school in Oswiecim, and as a young student made frequent visits to volunteer at a nearby orphanage. This early experience led to a passionate concern and support for the welfare of children, which continues to this day. Fr. Matthew studied chemistry at the University in Krakow. It was there where he learned about the Pauline Order and made the courageous decision to discontinue his studies and enter the priesthood. His patron, St. Matthew, was an inspiration for him, since he also made a break with his previous life and set out on a new path.
Ordained in 1992, Fr. Matthew was assigned to work in a small parish in central Poland. He was then sent to Germany, where he stayed fifteen years, first in the Monastery in Regensburg, and then in nearby Mainburg where he served as Pastor for ten years. It was here that he renewed his ministry to children, and reached out to young people in a nearby orphanage. The parishioners in Mainburg joined Fr. Matthew in caring for these children and helping them to experience life in a loving family. The thankfulness of the children he helped in Germany has been one of Fr. Matthew’s greatest joys.
After his assignment in Germany, Fr. Matthew came to the Pauline Monastery in Doylestown, PA. Shortly thereafter, he was transferred to Buffalo and arrived in December 2008. Fr. Matthew, who had to cope with a foreign language in Germany, had to start again in the U.S. “from the beginning.” He has, however, become quite at ease with English, and has faced the challenge of learning new languages with determination. Fr. Matthew looks forward to continuing the Pauline Order’s commitment to the spiritual and physical renewal of Corpus Christi.
Fr. Simon Shaner is a new arrival to Corpus Christi, where he is serving as Assistant Pastor. The 51 year old American has been a Pauline priest for 14 years, and has served in parishes in his home state of New Jersey, Connecticut and at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. He most recently served as the first Pastor of the newly established St. Mark’s parish in Summerfield, Florida. Under his leadership, the parish raised $6 million in three years to build a new church for the large congregation. The new church holds 1,700 people and has a chapel which seats 230 worshippers. This building was dedicated on January 30, 2010. Fr. Simon sees the success of St Mark’s as an example of the good that can happen when everybody comes together with whatever gifts they have to offer, and God, in turn, blesses those efforts and makes them grow.
Both Fr. Matthew and Fr. Simon bring a wealth of talent and experience to their work at Corpus Christi, and look forward to “making a difference” in our community.
