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A Few Clouds Pope names new auxiliary bishop for Rockville Centre diocese
Andrzej Zglejszewski, priest for 24 years, appointed by Francis
Making good on Pope Benedict XVI’s promise to appoint three auxiliary bishops to the Diocese of Rockville Centre, Pope Francis appointed Monsignor Andrzej Zglejszewski to the position on Feb. 11.
Zglejszewski, 52, was ordained a priest of the diocese in 1990, and has served as director of the Diocesan Office of Worship since 2007 and as the diocese’s co-chancellor since 2013. Before being appointed worship director, he served as associate pastor of the Church of Saint Christopher in Baldwin, Saint Thomas the Apostle Church in West Hempstead and Saint Rose of Lima Parish in Massapequa. In 2010 he was named a chaplain to Pope Benedict.
“I am very grateful to the Holy Father for giving our diocese this good and holy priest of many talents, to assist me in the pastoral care of the 1.5 million Catholics of our diocese,” said Bishop William Murphy. “I know the priests, deacons, liturgical ministers and all the people of God will welcome this appointment from our Holy Father as I have — with gratitude to God, and with great joy that, through the choice of Pope Francis, we are blessed with a bishop who will serve this Church as a bishop, just as he has served it so well as a priest.”
Murphy commended Zglejszewski for his enthusiasm and dedication to the parish and the diocese, noting that he spearheaded the introduction of the 2011 English translation of the Roman Missal in the diocese, which includes more than 130 parishes and other religious institutions. Murphy will ordain Zglejszewski at St. Agnes Cathedral on March 25.
“I think everyone is very surprised by the news coming from Rome, and I hope everyone will understand why my heart and mind turns into both wonder and joy,” Zglejszew-ski said. “I am humbled by the Holy Father’s appointment, and even though I always wanted to serve God and the Church in the best way I can, I am overwhelmed with the sense of my unworthiness. For that reason, I turn all my emotions and wonders into a song of gratitude.”
Zglejszewski was born in Czarna Bialostocka, Poland, and studied philosophy and theology before coming to the U.S. in 1987. He completed his studies for the priesthood at the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington before being ordained by Bishop John McGann in 1990. His graduate studies include theology at Fordham University and sacramental theology at the Catholic University of America. For several years he also served as an adjunct professor at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington.
“I am grateful to all the faithful on Long Island,” Zglejszewski said. “I was always touched by their faith and love. Being away from my home in Poland for more than half of my life now, today, I can say that I am home.”
