Three priests celebrate 50 years of service

Three priests of the Albany Diocese will celebrate 50 years in the priesthood this year. They are Revs. Leo L. Marcil, Raymond S. Piechocki and Edward J. Ryan.

REV. LEO L. MARCIL was born in Cohoes and attended St. Joseph's primary school there. He attended high school and two years of college at Joliette in Canada. For the following six years, he studied at Christ the King Seminary at St. Bonaventure, N.Y., and was ordained on May 31, 1947 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Albany, by Bishop Edmund F.Gibbons.

Father Marcil's first assignment was to St. Alphonsus Church in Glens Falls, where he served from 1947 to 1963. In 1963, Bishop William Scully appointed him pastor of Notre Dame de Lourdes parish in Schuylerville. He was there only eight months when he was called to serve as pastor of St. Paul's in Hudson Falls. He remained pastor there until his retirement in 1992.

Since 1992, when Immaculate Heart of Mary Church merged with St. Paul's, Father Marcil has lived at the rectory of St. Mary/St. Paul's. In retirement, he keeps a busy schedule, celebrating daily Mass, visiting the Glens Falls Hospital and bringing communion to the home-bound.

His golden jubilee will be observed at a special Mass on June 1 at 1 p.m. Bishop Howard J. Hubbard will concelebrate the Mass and Rev. Edward Pratt will offer the homily. A reception will follow in McManus Hall.

REV. RAYMOND S. PIECHOCKI, a native of Amsterdam, graduated from Wilbur H. Lynch High School. He attended St. John Kanty in Erie, Pa. and St. Bernard's Seminary in Rochester. He was ordained May 31, 1947, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Albany, by Bishop Gibbons.

Following ordination, Father Piechocki's summer assignment was to Sacred Heart in Arkville. He thereafter served as associate at St. Adalbert's, Schenectady; St. Stanislaus, Amsterdam; St. Joseph's, Green Island; St. Mary's, Schenectady; and St. John the Baptist, Amsterdam. In 1966-67, he became administrator of Sacred Heart Church, Hudson, and then pastor of Sacred Heart, Little Falls.

He served as pastor of St. Stanislaus, Amsterdam, for many years and also as chaplain and director of pastoral care at Mt. Loretto Nursing Home, Amsterdam.

Father Piechocki observed his anniversary at a concelebrated Mass on May 18 at St. Stanislaus Church, Amsterdam, and at a reception and dinner for family and friends.

REV. EDWARD J. RYAN, a native of Troy, graduated from St. John's Academy in Rensselaer. His education for the priesthood was at St. Joseph's, Dunwoodie and St. Bonaventure. He was ordained March 1, 1947 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Albany, by Bishop Edmund F. Gibbons.

His first assignment was as chaplain at St. Mary's Hospital in Troy. From 1947 to 1964, he served as assistant pastor at St. Mary's in Troy. In 1964, he was named pastor of St. Peter's, Delhi, where he ministered until his retirement in 1996.

(05-29-97) [[In-content Ad]]