“USA is for me a very special country; here I feel at home”—says Father Wieliczko to Radio Vatican. This Sunday the Father received a special prize, the Pride of Polonia Award. This award is given annually by the National Polish Apostolate Committee in the United States to the person who has contributed the most to the life of the Poles in America.
Pawel Rytel Andrianik, Krzysztof Dudek SJ– The Vatican
The ceremony took place at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown. This year’s theme was: The Heritage of John Paul II, because soon we will celebrate the 45th anniversary of the election of Karol Wojtyla, the archbishop of Cracow to the Apostolic Sede. The selection of Father Wieliczko OSPPE for the recipient of the award was easy: he has great merits in widening the heritage of Saint John Paul II, since for the last twelve years he worked as the Administrator of John Paul II Foundation in Rome. When we asked him what plans he has for the future, he said:”God will guide me.”
“It was a great surprise to me to get the award because I didn’t expect it. I lived in the USA for 25 years, before I arrived to Rome. Out of those 25 years I served 12 as rector (parish priest) in Manhattan. Then I worked for two cadencies for an American province of the Paulines. The last year in USA I served in Connecticut, after which I was transferred to Rome.
“John Paul II Foundation is enormous. We had over 50 Circles in 24 countries of the world. Outside of Poland we were in Asia: Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Korea. Also in Australia, New Zeeland, and both Americas. Our biggest contact was with the USA and Canada, although in Mexico we had several very active Circles.
“Now I work in Orlando, Florida. All my family lives in the USA, and I have American citizenship since 1994. That is why this country is close to me. I can say that I have returned to it.
Vaticannews.va
(translated from Polish by Eduvigia Orzechowska Ancaya)
