By Joe Winter
Catholic Herald correspondent

Parish honors Fr. Peter Szleszinski, retiring pastor

HUDSON -- The retirement from active ministry of Fr. Peter Szleszinski, longtime pastor at St. Patrick and other parishes, was marked with a celebrity-style roast and a dinner -- including spare ribs and sauerkraut, his favorite food combo.

During a program in the upper-level church, a facility he was instrumental in building, Szleszinski was given the first plate of food, before festivities were moved to the downstairs social hall for a dinner that fed several hundred people.

The program, held Jan. 16. was part good-natured roasting and part remembrance of his frugality, his love of golf and bowling, his love of food and of baptizing children, of his Polish heritage and of the gruff exterior that belied his warm heart.

Szleszinski, 74, received gifts including an easy chair and golf clubs, which were carried up the main church aisle and presented to him. He remained seated in the cushy chair for almost the entire program.

"I first met you in St. Francis Seminary (in Milwaukee). Even then you were a big, quiet, prayerful, intelligent man," said longtime parishioner Bill Feyereisen, in a letter that was read to the congregation. "You were a little gruff on the outside, a bit hard to understand, and fearsome in athletic contests.

"In the ensuing years you have added a sense of humor, a strong work ethic and the softness of a teddy bear on the inside."

Many speakers lauded his "difficult task" of building -- and working to pay for -- the new St. Patrick Church. Master of ceremonies John Knutson -- who joked that Peter was "the Rock" of this church -- even suggested that if a monetary emergency came about during the course of the day, a collection plate could be passed.

Paul Krenik, the grand knight of the local Knights of Columbus council, underscored the need for constructing that new church, which became most apparent in the early 1990s. He recalled standing by the west wall of the old building, next to an architectural model of the new facility, and falling through the floor up to his knees. "I was the first one who genuflected before the new church," he said with a laugh.

Sr. Bernadette Kalscheur, SSSF, pastoral minister at St. Patrick, echoed a common theme -- that Szleszinski never missed a meeting. He was especially faithful in attending the group gatherings celebrating the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, no matter where they were held in the diocese. "Maybe that was because we always went out to eat afterwards," she joked.

Kalscheur teased Szleszinski about some of his speech foibles, particularly phrases that often showed up in his homilies -- they were filled with the three-word ending to sentences "and everything else." She added that his typical answer to almost any question (which now included, "Will you enjoy retirement?"), was "I don't know."

Szleszinski also responded to almost all questions with raised eyebrows, and those asking had to rely on other body language to decipher his answer, Kalscheur said. An example was the time he was asked whether a wall should be removed to make the dining room in the rectory more spacious. Obviously concerned about cost, Szleszinski responded by tweaking his brow in a way that nobody could interpret.

Next up was State Sen. Kitty Rhoades, who read a legislative proclamation declaring that this day was in honor of Szleszinski.

Parishioner Rick Reams, who owns an award-winning meat and sausage making grocery store, recalled his concern when Szleszinski took charge of making traditional Polish blood sausage for a parish function. It seemed the pastor wanted the homemade grill so hot it could conceivably burn the house down.

"Even knowing what (ingredients) were in it, it still turned out very good," Reams said, adding that Szleszinski elected to wrap the meat in newspaper before grilling.

Howard Cameron, the other master of ceremonies, noted Szleszinski's game on the links, adding that he played 360 rounds of nine-hole golf between Ascension Thursday and the close of the season.

Szleszinski, who was born near Strickland on Sept. 11, 1930, began serving as pastor at St. Patrick in June 1986. Before that, he served, in chronological order starting in 1956: St. Francis de Sales in Spooner, St. Joseph in Rice Lake, St. Francis Xavier in Merrill, St. John Vianney in Lake Tomahawk, Ss. Peter and Paul in Gilman, then again St. Francis in Merrill, this time for seven years. All the other terms were for two to four years.

Szleszinski said he will continue to live at the rectory in Hudson and likely lend a hand, part time, in ministry at St. Patrick. The new pastor, Fr. John Parr, just began his stint. He is on-loan from the diocese of La Crosse, where held various positions, including pastor, for more than two decades.

St. Patrick, which now has more than 5,000 members, will no longer have an associate pastor, although two other retired priests, Fr. Jim Dabruzzi and Fr. Virgil Heinen, will help out.

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© Superior Catholic Herald, 2004