Search
-
Pastor, Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parishfrkuchinskistmarysyork.orgFather John Kuchinski
Hometown: Lancaster, Pa.
Education: St. Leo the Great School in Rohrerstown, public school in Chelmsford, Mass., Lancaster Catholic High School, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, Pontifical North American College in Rome
Current Assignment: Pastor of Immaculate Conception BVM Parish in York
When did you first consider the priesthood?
It didn’t seem out of the norm, but it wasn’t something that I ever thought about until I was in high school. We were always very close to the priests in our parish wherever we were, but it was never something that actually crossed my mind, at least that I remember, until I was in high school.
It was gradual. There are key moments, when I look back, that I remember thinking about it. I link it to Confirmation. I was Confirmed in the spring of my eighth-grade year, and then when I got to high school, it began to grow. It was around that time that Bishop Rhoades and Father LaVoie began the Quo Vadis Days retreat. That was in 2005. Right when I had begun thinking about the priesthood, all of a sudden this opportunity appears and I was lucky enough to be able to go to Quo Vadis Days. That really helped the trajectory of my discernment through high school in terms of letting the desire grow.
Because it was gradual, I guess I was always comfortable with it. Yes it was challenging and there were aspects that were overwhelming, but it just seemed right.
What is your ministry like at St. Mary’s?
St. Mary’s is an amazing parish. The church itself is extraordinary, but I don’t want to be distracted by that because the parish is the people. The people are faithful, kind, generous, loving, forgiving and patient. They’re all sorts of wonderful words.
It is the Hispanic parish in York, and I was kind of prepared for that at my previous assignment in Gettysburg, where I relearned Spanish. The Hispanic community in York is diverse, and so the ways of speaking Spanish are diverse.
As far as regular things go, I do a lot of things in English and in Spanish. We have active prayer groups. There is a hospital up the road, and Father Charles is our full-time hospital chaplain, but I go there to visit parishioners. We have a very vibrant religious education program. We had more than 50 baptisms and 21 weddings last year. There’s a lot going on.
What do you enjoy most about being a priest?
Celebrating the sacraments: Mass, baptisms, sitting in the confessional, visiting people for the Anointing of the Sick. Those are everyday but meaningful moments. It’s always edifying when you can see the lightbulb going on for somebody, and to be a privileged witness to other people’s journeys. The priesthood is not a miserable, dour, painful existence. It has its unique challenges, but it also has some extraordinary blessings.
