Each year, when the bishop releases the priest changes, it sets into motion a process for the priests who will be accepting a new assignment. No matter how long the priest has been ordained, he will have to get used to a new community and a different way of doing things. And there’s always the practical side of things: packing suitcases and boxes and physically moving from one home to another.
Father Joe Piekarski has spent the last eight years as pastor at St. John the Beloved Parish in the Pike Creek area of Wilmington. As of June 28, he will be the new pastor at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Hockessin, about five miles away. He has moved several times in his 37 years as a priest.
“You never get used to it,” he said recently. “I never really liked moving, but you have to go when the job asks you to move on. It’s always difficult. You have to say goodbye to people and to things you did in that parish. You have to get ready for a whole new congregation.”
This is the shortest move in terms of distance Father Piekarski has ever made. He’ll be in the same deanery, or geographical grouping of parishes. But he still had to pack up his personal belongings and files, along with his memories of St. John the Beloved.
His priesthood has taken him to the beach for five years, and he spent time at St. Hedwig Parish in Wilmington and also 11 years at Immaculate Conception Parish in Elkton, Md. There are some differences based on geography, he said. In the beach parishes, many of the parishioners come from the archdioceses of Baltimore and Washington, and they have “a different flavor” of the church. In the northern part of the Diocese of Wilmington, the non-natives tend to be from New Jersey and New York.
No matter where he goes, however, he finds that their concerns are similar. They deal with the sacraments, economics, jobs.
Father Piekarski’s successor at St. John the Beloved is new to the parish and to the diocesan priesthood, but not to Wilmington. Father Mike Vannicola has been a priest since 2006 as a member of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, the religious congregation that taught him at Salesianum School, from which he graduated in 1995. Father Vannicola grew up in Wilmington and Newark as a member of St. Helena’s and St. John the Baptist/Holy Angels parishes.
Father Vannicola is leaving the Oblates to become a diocesan priest, saying he feels called to parish life and the parishioners. He spent the last year as the assistant provincial for the Oblates’ Wilmington-Philadelphia Province, but his ministry has included time as a pastor and teacher in Delaware, Virginia and Florida. He is no stranger to moving.
“You know that it’s part of the life that we’re called to live, to be ready to go when called upon,” he said.
This time, his move was about as short as it’s ever been, about 20 minutes from the Oblates’ residence near Rockford Park to St. John the Beloved.
“That made it so much easier,” he said.
Father Vannicola said the maintenance crew at St. John the Beloved were a great help, as was his associate pastor, Father Michael Preston and some members of his family who helped unload the UHaul. The cooler-than-normal June temperatures also came in handy.
In Florida, Father Vannicola served at a parish with a school, so he is excited to be in that situation once again.
“A school is a reminder that the church continues on,” he said. “Young families bring vitality. A school is a great blessing. I’m very happy to have a parish with a school.”
Fathers Piekarski spoke to both Father Vannicola and Father Charles Dillingham, his predecessor at St. Mary of the Assumption, before the official start date of June 28.
“I went a couple of times and talked about many things with the pastor and the finance people. It’s not like you just go into a place and it’s a whole new show of things,” Father Piekarski said.
Each time he has moved, Father Piekarski remembers the people he has married or buried at his previous assignment. He left St. John the Beloved without a goodbye party, finding them difficult to attend. He looks at moving in a philosophical way.
“Moving for a priest is a good reminder that nothing is forever,” he said. “We come and go in time. Moving is a humbling experience that keeps the priest aware that we are on a pilgrimage.”
Father Vannicola said he remains connected to each of the places where he has served. Friendships endure, and new relationships are established. Going to a new parish or other assignment is an opportunity “to encounter God in new places.”
He is reminded of the quote by St. Francis de Sales: “Those who go, stay, and those who stay, go.” People take a little of their friends with them, and they leave a bit of themselves behind.
Father Vannicola said he prays for the priests who one day will replace him. He also prays for the strength to do the best job he can so that the parish is in good shape when his assignment is over. He tries to keep in mind that God has called him to a place to serve, but there will be a time to move on.
“It’s also a reminder that the church is bigger than any one person.”
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