A Jubilee Mass at 6:30 PM on Thursday, June 16, 2011 in St. Joseph Church, honors this special anniversary and reception prepared by parishioners will follow in the church hall.

Rev. Mitchell “Mitch” Wanat CM was born on August 5, 1942 in New Haven, CT. As a child he met Vincentians in St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Parish. Records of  The Holy Name Society of St. Stanislaus Parish (established 1951) list him among prominent members who later became priests. After pursuing normal schooling Mitch Wanat joined the Congregation of the Mission in then Polish Vice-Province in the USA on June 11, 1963. He got through seminary formation in the Mary Immaculate Seminary, Northampton, PA staffed by Vincentian from Eastern Province. He graduated with Master’s of Divinity and on May 29, 1971 he was ordained priest in Mary Queen of All Saints Chapel there.

Known for his athletic ability, immediately after ordinations Father Mitchell was assigned to St. John Kanty Prep in Erie, PA where he proved his worth till the end of athletic activities with the closing of the school in 1980. He was idolized by the students as a teacher and last athletic director in the school’s history.

Sport was very important and significant activity at Kanty Prep. The first sport to be organized in Kanty was baseball, because there was no gym for other sports. Tha ball playing took place in the cornfield, before the baseball diamond was laid out, with donated equipment. The first basketball game in the “old” gymnasium, built over the boiler room took place on February 12, 1924.

The excellence of sports at Kanty continued until the school’s closing in 1980. Beside the regular sports of football, basketball, and baseball, there were at times, winter skiing and sledding, tennis, bowling, golf, cross country running and even horseback riding.

A hiatus occurred in Kanty athletics when Kanty ceased to be solely a boarding school and became a day school in 1967. The resumption of an athletic schedule was slow but gained strength with time until, in 1980, there were undefeated in footbal (The Eagles), 10-0. The basketball (Varsity) record was excellent as well with 16 wins and 6 losses in final year.

When the Kanty Prep was closed in June 1980 Fr. Wanat together with Father John Sledziona CM and Brother Joseph Zurowski CM moved to Concord, NH, invited by the Bishop of Manchester to take over management of the Bishop Brady High School. While Fr. John became principal of the school and Bro. Joseph headed English department, Father Mitchell was a chaplain. Assigned to teaching and chaplaincy work at Bishop Brady High School Concord, NH Vincentians lived at Laboure House, expressly formed for that purpose at Bow, NH. When the parish of  St. Peter’s in Concord, NH was acquired in 1983, Father moved into the rectory and continued his teaching and chaplaincy activities at Bishop Brady until the contract expired in 1989. Father Mitchell honed in parochial work as vicar in St. Joseph’s Ansonia, CT until 1992.

Next, Father was sent to Lisbon Falls, ME in Diocese of Portland. Vincentians took over the parish of  SS. Cyril & Methodius in Lisbon Falls in 1976. Once it was an ethnic parish community created by Slovak immigrants. During the years and due to various circumstances number of parishioners declined almost leading the parish to closure. With the arrival of Fr. Edward Gicewicz CM as pastor life retuned to the parish. Thus, the Bishop of Portland initiated the project to merge three parishes in Lisbon Falls in to one. Besides St. Cyril and Methodius (placed on National Register of Historic Places on May 20, 1977) Vincentians started to work in Holy Family parish and St. Ann’s parish. Fr. George Dabrowski CM became pastor of first two parishes in 1992 and Fr. Mitchell a pastor of St. Ann’s parish. In 1993 he was appointed pastor of all three parishes. By the bishop’s decree of January 1, 1995 the three parishes became one – Holy Trinity Parish. In 1996 Fr. Anthony Kuzia CM replaced Fr. Wanat as pastor. In 2000 Vincentians left Lisbon Falls.

In 1996 Father Mitchell returned to St. Peter’s Parish in Concord, NH as Pastor and community Superior. Also in 1996 Father was elected Provincial Councilor and continued until 1998. His pastorate in Concord finished in 2001 when he was moved to St. Michael’s Parish in Derby, CT as pastor and superior again. Finally, in 2008 Father returned to Ansonia. First as administrator and then, since September 2 as a pastor of St. Joseph Parish. Meanwhile, on September 9, 2005 he has been elected as Provincial Councilor for another time.

You can view more pictures in the Facebook gallery

On this special day we wish Fr. Mitchell
plenty of graces from Heavens.
May the Lord bless, strengthen and protect you
on your Vincentian pathway!

The parish in Derby for Polish emigrants was formed after years of struggling for the church where Poles could pray and sing in their native language. The first Polish immigrations came to this important seaport in Connecticut in 1875 either from the mills and coal mines of Pennsylvania or directly from Southern Poland, because of the availability of labor. In the nearby Ansonia, Poles came mostly from Vilnius area. The Association of St. Michael the Archangel was established on New Year’s Day, 1896 for the purpose of forming the new parish. A first people attended Masses at St. Mary’s church regularly. However, after 1904, when Vincentians took over St. Stanislaus Parish in New Haven, CT they came to hear confessions in Derby on Saturdays and to have a Mass for Poles with a sermon in Polish on Sundays. On October 18, 1905 the parish of St. Michael the Archangel was incorporated. Rev. Stanislaus Konieczny CM was designated to be first pastor.

In 1938 Rev. Joseph Swaltek CM was appointed the pastor of St. Michael’s and started with beautifying the front of the church. In 1939 he went to Poland to celebrate his 25th priesthood anniversary. Unfortunately, WWII has broken up on September 1, 1939. After different complications and being denied from military service as chaplain Fr. Swaltek fled with populace and finally returned to the United States. During his absence, the parish committee looked for a cemetery site. On July 8, 1939, 65 acres were procured on “Silver Hill” for the amount of $5,250. It turned out that the property lay in a residential area but that difficulty was cleared in time. On November 24, 1939 the cemetery was blessed and the hard task of blasting and removing rocks began.

In addition to the parishioners, much physical labor was donated by the parish priests themselves. One of them was parochial vicar Rev. Julian Pustelnik CM who loved physical work in which he was very successful. Contributing in organization of the cemetery he never realized he would be one of the first to be buried there. When Fr. Casimir Kiczuk CM was vicar (during pastorate of Fr. Michael Gryglak CM and second pastorate of Fr. Swaltek) the landscaping of the necropolis was largely attributed to him. During pastorate of Fr. Henry Czekala CM (1979-1988) the roads in the cemetery were repaired.

St. Michael’s Cemetery is at Silver Hill Road, next to Osborndale State Park. It can be reached from Gen. Samuel Jasilka Hwy. Cemetery’s office is at St. Michael’s Parish. (View directions on the map). Vincentians’ Plot is in the oval at the end of entrance driveway. There two rows of graves there, with stone plaques, ca. 20″ by 8″ each.  (view it on the map)

Confreres buried in St. Michael’s Cemetery:

Bro. Francis ANDRZEJEWSKI CM (†2001)
Rev. Stanislaus BLACHUTA CM (†1976)
Bro. Stanislaus CIEPLAK CM (†1976)
Rev. Martin CYMBROWSKI CM (†2001)
Rev. Joseph CZAPLA CM (†1962)
Bro. Aurelius DOBROGOWSKI CM (†1963)
Bro. Peter DZERMEJKO CM (†1982)
Rev. Edward P. GICEWICZ CM (†2009)
Bro. Richard GLINSKI CM (†2003)
Rev. George GLOGOWSKI CM (†1920)
Rev. Wilhelm GOLLI CM (†1994)
Rev. Michael GRYGLAK CM (†1976)
Rev. John JANKOWSKI CM (†1996)
Rev. Stephen MINKIEL CM (†2007)
Rev. Gothard KRZYSTECZKO CM (†1990)
Rev. Paul KURTYKA CM (†1986)
Rev. Casimir KWIATKOWSKI CM (†1969)
Rev. Joseph LUKASZCZYK CM (†1966)
Rev. Anthony MAZURKIEWICZ CM (†1963)
Rev. James MIELECHOWSKI CM (†1996)
Rev. Peter OLSZOWKA CM (†1975)
Rev. Walenty PIECZKA CM (†2007)
Rev. Joseph PIORKOWSKI CM (†1969)
Rev. Julian PUSTELNIK CM (†1940)
Rev. Michael SADOWSKI CM (†1965)
Rev. Joseph SWALTEK CM (†1953)
Rev. Charles SZYMANSKI CM (†1992)
Rev. Eugene SZYSZKA CM (†1994)
Rev. Ronald A. WIKTOR CM (†2010)
Rev. Stanislaus WLODARCZYK CM (†1946)
Rev. Carl WOJCIECHOWSKI CM (†1972)
Rev. Henry WOJTKIEWICZ CM (†2004)
Bro. Henry ZIOLKOWSKI CM (†1997)

To read more about other graveyards of the Vincentian community in New England go to these stories:
« They Rest In Peace… Calvary Cemetery »
« Where Our Departed Confreres Rest In Peace »
« Eternal rest, grant unto them, O Lord… »

St. Michael’s Cemetery, Derby, Connecticut

Read the story: “They Rest in peace… St. Michael’s Cemetery”
to learn more about Our Confreres there

Calvary Cemetery,  Queens, New York

Read the story: “They Rest in peace… Calvary Cemetery”
to learn more about Our Confreres there

Other cemeteries in the United States

Rev. Henry CZEKALA CM (†2005) – St. Lawrence Cemetery, West Haven, Connecticut
Bro. George FELIX CM (†1905) – New Haven, Connecticut
Rev. Joseph JANOWSKI CM (†1936) – Mount St.Peter’s Cemetery, Derby, Connecticut
Rev. Francis HAMERSKI CM (†1969) – St. Lawrence Cemetery, West Haven, Connecticut
Rev. Casimir KICZUK CM (†2003) – St. Mary’s & St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Norwich, Connecticut
Rev. Charles PACHERSKI CM (†1977) – St. Raphael Cemetery, New Haven, Connecticut
Rev. Joseph PACIOREK CM (†2004) – St. Stanislaus Kostka Cemetery, Adams, Massachusetts
Rev. Paul DYLLA CM (†1976) – Swansea, Massachusetts

Cemeteries or death places in Poland
(CM Province of Poland)

Confreres, who retired or reassigned to other ministry returned to Poland
(locations in Ukraine, Belarus and Ukraine belonged to Poland before WWII)

Rev. Francis ARCISZEWSKI CM (†2000) – Powazki Cemetery, Warsaw
Rev. Francis BUCHHORN CM (†1935) – Tarnow
Rev. John CEPURSKI CM (†1942) – Milatyn Nowy, Ukraine
Rev. Waclaw CZAPLA CM (†1971) – died in car accident, Oviedo, Spain
Rev. John GANCARZ CM (†1940) – Rakowice Cemetery, Krakow
Rev. Sylvester GRACZYK CM (†1940) – Powazki Cemetery, Warsaw
Rev. Joseph GRZELINSKI CM (†1977) – Krzeszowice
Rev. Francis KELLNER CM (†1992) – Rakowice Cemetery, Krakow
Rev. Eugene KOLODZIEJ CM (†1952) – Rakowice Cemetery, Krakow
Rev. Hugo KROL CM (†1945) – Rakowice Cemetery, Krakow
Bro. Martin KUDLEK CM (†1942) – Rakowice Cemetery, Krakow
Rev. Michael PAJAK CM (†1981) – Zmigrod
Rev. Adam PIASECKI CM (†1946) – Rakowice Cemetery, Krakow
Rev. John PIENIAZEK CM (†1936) – Olcza, Zakopane
Rev. Joseph PIEPRZYCA CM (†1976) – Tarnow
Rev. John ROSSMAN CM (†1926) – Lviv, Ukraine
Servant of God, Rev. Joseph SLUPINA CM (†1940) – KL Auschwitz
Rev. John SOBOTKA CM (†2005) – Powazki Cemetery, Warsaw
Rev. Joseph SOWINSKI CM (†1945) – Vilnius, Lithuania
Rev. Francis TRAWNICZEK CM (†1926) – Rakowice Cemetery. Krakow
Rev. Constantine WITASZEK CM (†1960) – Chelmno
Rev. Francis WOJCIAK CM (†1938) – Olcza, Zakopane
Rev. Joseph ZAJAC CM (†1941) – Lviv, Ukraine
Rev. Aloysius ZELEZNIK CM (†1945) – Lyskov, Belarus

Confreries buried in the state of Parana, Brazil
(CM Province of Curitiba)

Confreres, who after returning from China mission
temporarily worked in New England before moving
to then Vice-Province of Poland in Brazil
(presently Province of Curitiba)

Msgr Ignatius KRAUZE CM, Bishop of Shuntehfu (†1984) – Araucaria
Rev. Sigismund PIOTROWSKI CM (†1978) – Curitiba
Rev. Waclaw SZUNIEWICZ CM (†1963) – Irati
Rev. John WISLINSKI CM (†1961) – Araucaria

Diocese of Shuntehfu, China

Rev. Waclaw JECZMIONKA CM (†1943) – one of  the three priests who went to foreign missions in China from Vice-Province of Poland in Utica

Rev. Joseph Jankowski CM monument dedicated by parishioners from Ansonia, CT