My name is Fr. Walter Szczesny and I am the Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Buffalo, NY. I have been blessed to be involved in this ministry since August of 2006. I have an office at our Diocesan Catholic Center at 795 Main Street in Buffalo, but I also have an office and reside at Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, NY. I welcome you to our Vocation website and I hope that you find it informative and interesting. The "Call" by God to serve as a Priest does not come in one dramatic event...but it is usually a series of small whisperings that lead us to an answer that we are comfortable with. I hope that this website will be one of the many whispers that you hear as God may be reaching out to you to DISCOVER THE PLAN that God may have for you.
My own call to the Priesthood was certainly a series of many whispers. I grew up in Batavia, NY and attended Catholic grammar and high school. I am one of six children and I remain very close to my parents and siblings. I then studied for one year at Oswego State College and then enrolled at Wadhams Hall Seminary College in Ogdensburg, NY. I earned my Bachelor Degree in Philosophy there and then entered Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, NY. I completed two years of the four year program here . . . then my Vocation journey took an unexpected route. I accepted an offer to work for the summer at Saint Madeleine Parish in Pomona, CA after my Second Year of studies at Christ the King Seminary. I loved the parish ministry . . . and Southern California so much that as September approached, I wanted to spend more time in completing my assignment there. I asked for and received permission from the Bishop of Buffalo to delay my return to my studies. I sincerely feel that this was part of God's plan for me. I returned to Western New York several months later and accepted a position as teacher at the New York State School for the Blind in Batavia where I worked with children in the Deaf/Blind program. I learned to communicate with the children via sign language and spent two years teaching there. I then accepted a position as a counselor and tutor at Maryvale Catholic Orphanage in Rosemead, CA. I spent one year in this ministry and then was offered a career with the US Treasury Office in Los Angeles. I enjoyed this work and was able to volunteer at the orphanage and stay very much involved in my local parish.
I loved California but I missed my family, and after two years I was granted a transfer to Ithaca, NY with the same position. I worked in Ithaca with the government for four more years. These four years were very happy years for me. I loved the Ithaca area, was close to my family, and I was advancing in a career that I was most content with. I was "set for life." But there was also something missing. I was yearning for and looking for more in my heart. I considered returning to special education or social work. I also thought about Priesthood again and after much thought and prayer decided that this, Priesthood, was what I wanted to do with the "rest of my life." I consulted several close friends and priests on this big decision . . . and they all agreed that God was calling me in this direction.
I returned to Christ the King Seminary to resume my studies as a Third Year Theologian, nine years after I had finished Second Year Theology. I had a whole new set of classmates and friends. There was some adjustment in leaving my apartment and a career that I was most happy with . . . but I was much at peace with my decision. I spent two more years at Christ the King Seminary and was ordained a Transitional Deacon in June of 1989. I spent my Deacon Year at Saint Amelia Parish in Tonawanda and was ordained a Priest on July 21, 1990. My first assignment as a Priest was at Immaculate Conception Parish in East Aurora where I ministered for 4 years. I was then transferred to Saints Peter & Paul Parish in Hamburg for the next five years. I was very pleased to find a certain charism or rhythm to the life of a Diocesan Priest. There was a great variety of ministry with youth, senior citizens, hospital calls, liturgy, social, and prayer life. I found myself in a career in which I was putting in the longest hours in work. I was in situations that were the most stressful I had ever encountered . . . but I was far and away the happiest, most content and satisfied than I had ever been in my previous most colorful life and career.
I spent nine wonderful years in those two parishes and then I was asked by Bishop Mansell to return to the Seminary to be the Assistant Director of Formation and to teach in the Liturgy Department. I very much enjoyed working with Seminarians on a day to day basis and after two more years the Bishop assigned me the additional responsibility as the Pastor of Saint George Parish in West Falls. This was the perfect blend of parish life and working with the students in the Seminary. I maintained this beautiful balance until the summer of 2006 when Bishop Kmiec asked me to become the Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Buffalo. I find this ministry to be most rewarding. I still teach in the Liturgy Department at the Seminary and have the position of Director of Seminarians, but I also work at the Catholic Center Vocation Office daily. I travel to parishes, colleges, and high schools to speak on vocations for the seminary. I enjoy hearing the vocation stories of the candidates and have been most impressed with their desire and dedication to serve God by serving others.
I believe that God is calling many men to come and see what the seminary and priesthood is all about. It is not an easy life . . . but it is most rewarding. I would be most interested in hearing your story and to try to answer any questions that you may have. Please don't hesitate to contact me at either of my two offices . . . the Vocation Office, 716-847-5535 or the Seminary Office, 716-652-3796. We can easily set up an appointment to meet. May God continue to bless you and inspire you as you accept the challenge....and the joy of DISCOVERING GOD'S PLAN for your life.
Fr. Walter Szczesny
Director of Vocations