Welcome, Marek Chmielewski! — A Message from Fr. AJ 6/5/2026

News

Jun 5

Written By St. Peter the Apostle Roman Catholic Church

Marek Chmielewski, Seminarian

We are excited to welcome Marek Chmielewski, a seminarian preparing for the priesthood, to St. Peter’s this summer! Marek joined us this week on June 2 and will be with us through July 25, assisting with pastoral care, serving the needs of the parish, and continuing his formation alongside our priests and deacon.

St. Peter’s has a long tradition of being a home for seminarians of the Archdiocese and I am excited that we are seen as a wonderful place for vocations to be nourished. Priests-in-training learn so much about how to be a priest from their different assignments and I believe there is much for Marek to discover here among us.

I would like to share a little about Marek in his own words:

“I am a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Newark finishing my second year of formation. I grew up in East Rutherford, NJ as the youngest of four children with two very devout Polish immigrant parents who gave me a strong foundation in the faith. I studied electrical engineering at Cornell University where I began to take my faith seriously and first felt the call to the priesthood. After graduating I started work as an underwater acoustics engineer in the Boston area but continued to discern for the next year and a half. Ultimately I felt called to return back to New Jersey and entered the seminary in August 2024.”

Please join us in warmly welcoming Marek to St. Peter’s and praying for him and his vocation!

In Christ,
Fr. AJ