Vocation led him from Diocese to Peru

A Maryknoll priest visiting Schenectady in the early 1950s convinced young Joseph Kowalczyk to choose a vocation that would eventually take him to Peru and Bolivia.

Today, Father Kowalczyk is living in the Schenectady area again and doing just what that priest did for him: recruiting men and women to join the Maryknolls, a missionary order. He visits parishes in the dioceses of Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Ogdensburg to discuss his work with people who may be considering becoming priests or religious.

The annual collection for world missions will be taken up in all parishes in the Albany Diocese this weekend; see additional stories on pages 8 and 16-17.

Exotic places

Father Kowalczyk grew up in Schenectady and moved to Rotterdam with his family. He attended Draper High School and graduated from Union College with a degree in electrical engineering. After serving briefly in the Navy during World War II, he worked for General Electric but found it unsatisfying.

One night, during a meeting of the Catholic Young Adult League to which he belonged, he heard a presentation by a Maryknoll priest on his missionary work in China. Afterward, the priest asked if he had ever studied Latin. Mr. Kowalczyk was surprised by the question at first but later realized the priest was attempting to find out if he had ever considered becoming a priest.

A parishioner of St. Adalbert's Church in Schenectady at the time, Mr. Kowalczyk had been active in the Catholic Young Adult League and made several weekend retreats with the group.

Change of career

His conversation with the Maryknoll priest opened his eyes to ordained ministry, and he enrolled in Latin courses at Siena College. Knowing that he wanted to pursue missionary work, he looked into other orders, including the Jesuits and Franciscans, before deciding the Maryknolls were for him.

As he pursued his seminary training, he studied East African anthropology at Fordham University in hopes of working on that continent upon his ordination. When he was ordained in 1961, however, he spent three months learning Spanish at the Maryknoll institute in Bolivia, in preparation for his first assignment: a seminary in Puno, Peru, on the western shore of Lake Titicaca.

During his six years there, he taught math, science, religion and Gregorian chants.

Another world

Father Kowalczyk had to adjust to the Aymara and Quechua cultures of residents; learning to speak Aymara was especially difficult -- but beneficial as well.

"It's good to know the way they think. You can penetrate a little better, get closer to them," he told The Evangelist.

Living where vegetation was scarce and transportation was limited also made Father Kowalczyk aware of things he had taken for granted living in the United States. "You even appreciate the little things -- like heavy air, trees and paved roads," he said.

Teaching in a seminary where so many students were Aymara was challenging because their culture embraces animism and getting them to accept Catholic principles occasionally was tough.

"The task is to purify their faith. They were reluctant to let go of their beliefs," he remarked.

Around Peru

Father Kowalczyk next went to Arequipa, Peru, where he worked in a spiritual house of priestly formation for five years; from 1971 to 1980, he served in a parish in Juli and helped with promoting vocations.

Although he spent most of his ministry in Peru, Father Kowalczyk returned to the United States for four years to perform missionary development work in the dioceses of Buffalo and Denver.

He then resumed his missionary work in Yunguyo, Peru, at a parish that is the size of a county, with one main church in town and parishioners who lived in the countryside. He would celebrate a main Mass on Sunday and then travel to outlying areas by jeep to celebrate feasts honoring the patron saints of individual chapels.

Since Father Kowalczyk had such a large area to cover, the role of catechists was extremely important; because they lived among parishioners, they ministered to them on a more consistent basis and spoke their native language, he noted.

Final assignment

His next destination was where he would stay for the remainder of his time in Peru: Tacna, where he served from 1986 to 1998. Many people migrated there looking for work and an opportunity for a better life, but they frequently were unskilled workers and improving their lot seemed improbable.

Despite their situation, residents were good-willed and possessed a strong sense of family values. Poverty instilled a desire to help others, even though no one had much to share.

"People need each other to survive. It's a blessing, in a way. The people are generous economically," he said.

Coming home

When he was due for a change in assignment earlier this year, he expressed an interest in returning home to continue his work. His mother lives in Rotterdam, and Father Kowalczyk arrived in February to recruit men an women to join the Maryknolls.

Being back in the Schenectady area after more than 30 years in Peru and Bolivia is a nice change of pace, but he misses the people to whom he ministered and the spiritual environment that they created.

"Even though life for many is so very difficult, they seem to be happy because they are so close to the Lord," he said.

(Editor's note: Father Kowalczyk corresponds through e-mail with those who want to learn about the Maryknolls. Write him at [email protected].)

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