PRESCOTT, Ariz. — Hailing from other countries, the two newest priests at Sacred Heart Parish are true missionaries. Members of the missionary Society of the Divine Word [SVD], pastor Fr. Krzysztof Pipa comes from Bochnia, Poland, while parochial vicar Biju Thomas comes from the largely Catholic Kerala state in India.
Bishop John Dolan visited the Prescott community this past Saturday to formally install Fr. Pipa as the pastor of the oldest parish in the diocese. At the same time, the community bid farewell to the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary – or the Claretians – who have served at the parish since 1915.
Reflecting on the Feeding of the 5,000 taken from the weekend’s Gospel, Bishop Dolan reminded parishioners that God will always feed them. While they may be saddened by the loss of the Claretian priests, God is providing for them by sending the Divine Word missionaries.
“When I was growing up, my father always taught us that a pastor might come, or a pastor might go. We didn’t focus on the personality of the pastor — or for that matter the personality of the choir or the personality of this particular person in the parish,” the bishop said. “We focused on Christ, most especially in the sacraments, so that wherever we went, we would find Christ.”
When the bishop learned the Claretians were leaving, he reached out to a friend who serves as the provincial general for the Society of the Divine Word to invite the community to discern serving in parishes in Phoenix.
“The one thing that we know about the Sacred Heart of Jesus is that it continues to beat, not just spiritually or metaphorically but physically. He is the Risen Lord, and His Heart, His Body, His Blood, His Soul, His Divinity, everything is for you,” he said. “These missionaries are always about pouring out their heart. That’s the beautiful gift of the Claretians. That’s the beautiful gift of the SVDs. You are in for a treat but you already know that, and you have already received many blessings, and no doubt, the Claretian Fathers here have received even greater blessings from you. I know and trust and believe that the SVD priests here will be blessed a hundredfold.”
“Today, I stand before you, accepting the incredible honor and responsibility of serving as a pastor. Let me first express my deepest appreciation to God for His mercy and His love,” said Fr. Pipa in remarks at the end of Mass. “We have a saying: ‘One heart, many faces.’ Even though we are coming from different backgrounds, we are here in the correct place for His Sacred Heart, Heart of Jesus. So, let us always meet in this place.”
Fr. Krzysztof Pipa, who grew up attending historic St. Nicholas Basilica in Bochnia, discerned the priesthood with a desire to serve as a missionary. As seminarian and priest, he served in Paraguay, Colombia, and Venezuela, during the dictatorship of Hugo Chavez. Ordained in 1998, he moved to the United States in 2011, where he served at St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Chicago, then at St. Ann Parish Brown Mills, N.J., in 2018 before arriving in Prescott two days before the installation ceremony. Fr. Pipa said he intends to “listen to the community” as well as the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
“It’s not just to suggest something, it’s to listen to the people, be respectful to what previous missionaries already did because they served here 109 years,” he said. “It’s big, big legacy and a good point is that they were missionaries. We can take from this point and work together with the community.”
Fr. Thomas recently celebrated his 20th anniversary as a priest on May 12. He first arrived from India in 2014, where he served in the Society’s media ministry in San Bernardino, Calif., followed by a parish in Riverside.
“India was a missionary country. Missionaries came to India, preached Christianity and gave us Catholicism. Now we’re going out as missionaries to other countries — Indians — and serving many other peoples,” he said. “I’m very glad to be here, in this beautiful community, and looking forward to a beautiful life here with everyone.”
When Fr. Pipa arrived in Prescott, he asked all of the current members of the Pastoral Council to extend their terms to help with his transition. Council chairwoman Martha Lamb said she looks forward to working alongside Fr. Pipa, noting that earlier in the summer the church hosted a parish-wide Eucharistic Revival conference.
Parishioner Jim Cardenas, who assists his wife – parish youth minister Amanda –, attended the liturgy with his family. Holding his two-month-old son, Ignacio, Cardenas shared that he was excited to be a part of history.
“It’s an amazing thing that we’re part of this making history here at the church,” he said. “I really like when the bishop says that we’re not left alone, we’re still going to be shepherded.”
Parish manager Jim Wren also noted the historic nature of the installation.
“I’m very excited about it, obviously. I have to work with my new pastor to figure out exactly what we’re going to do,” he said. “What’s impressed me about them is they’re such heartwarming people; they speak from their heart; they speak in faith. I find them very easy to work with and just very pleasant to deal with. So, I think they’re going to be really good leaders.”
Even with the pastoral transition, Deacon Mark Weber, who served as the deacon of the altar, said that mission will continue.
“It’s an honor to be here and be part of the continuity of the people in the parish with the Claretians leaving and the Society of the Divine Word coming in,” he said. “We’re still a solid community, and it just represents part of the continuum of the life of the parish for the next 100 years.”
