ON AUGUST 13, 2023 at 1 PM we invite you to St. Mary Our Lady Queen of Poland Church for our Summer Picnic.
Tickets: $ 15
Let's meet together!
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ON JULY 24, 2022 at 1 PM we invite you to St. Mary Our Lady Queen of Poland Church hall for a Parish Picnic.
Tickets: $ 10
Let's meet together!
SPRING LUNCH
ON JUNE 12, 2022 at 1 PM we invite you to St. Mary Our Lady Queen of Poland Church in Thunder Bay for Spring Lunch.
Adult tickets: $ 20; children under 12 tickets: $ 10
Let's meet together!
HOLY THURSDAY – April 6, 2023
Mass of the Lord Supper – 7:00 PM (Bilingual) - only at St. Casimir Church
Vigil & Adoration in silence until 9:00 PM - only at St. Casimir Church
GOOD FRIDAY – April 7, 2023
The Way of the Cross & Divine Mercy Novena - 5:30 PM (English)
The Celebration of the Passion of the Lord – 6:00 PM (Bilingual)
HOLY SATURDAY – April 8, 2023
Blessing of the Easter Food Baskets at the parish Hall – 1:00 PM (Bilingual)
Divine Mercy Novena - 7:30 PM - only at St. Mary Our Lady Queen of Poland Church
Easter Vigil Mass - 8:00 PM (Bilingual) - only at St. Mary Our Lady Queen of Poland Church
EASTER SUNDAY – April 9, 2023
Divine Mercy Novena - 7:00 AM (Polish)
The Resurrection of the Lord Mass with a procession – 7:30 AM (Bilingual)
Divine Mercy Novena - 4:30 PM (English)
The Resurrection of the Lord Mass - 5:00 PM (English)
Happy Easter Dear Brothers and Sisters!
TWO PARISHES
With the Apostolic Letter “Patris corde” (“With a Father’s Heart”), Pope Francis recalls the 150th anniversary of the declaration of Saint Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. To mark the occasion, the Holy Father has proclaimed a “Year of Saint Joseph” from 8 December 2020 to 8 December 2021. Happy Year of Saint Joseph!
PLENARY INDULGENCE
As an extra special blessing to accompany this celebration, the Church offers a plenary indulgence to all the Catholic faithful, under the usual conditions (Confession, Communion, and praying for the pope's intentions), if they participate in the Year of St. Joseph. Participation in the Year of St. Joseph includes:
The Church particularly extends the gift of this indulgence to "the elderly, the sick, the dying and all those who for legitimate reasons are unable to leave the house" in this time of pandemic, as long as they are detached from sin and intend to fulfill the usual conditions as soon as possible, if they "recite an act of piety in honour of St. Joseph, comfort of the sick and patron of a happy death, offering with trust in God the pains and discomforts of their lives." And it encourages priests to make themselves more available for the dispensing of the sacraments to the sick.
Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son;
in you Mary placed her trust;
with you Christ became man.
Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father
and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage,
and defend us from every evil. Amen.
https://www.cccb.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Consecration-to-Saint-Joseph-CCCB.pdf
Dear Father Krystian,
We would like to thank you for being our pastor for the past three years. Thanks for all the ways you have led and guided our parish.
You will continue to be in our prayers as God uses you wherever he calls.
May you have a blessed ministry in the years to come and you will always remain in our hearts.
Thankful Parishioners
Father Piotr Dudek, OMI was born in Poland. After graduating from high school with majors in biology and chemistry, he began the Oblate Noviciate at Święty Krzyż and a year later studied at the Oblate Seminary in Obra (Poland). As a deacon, he completed his pastoral internship in Ukraine, where he was ordained by the Apostolic Nuncio Abp. Nikola Eterović. After nine years of working in Ukraine, Fr. Piotr stood on Canadian soil beginning a ministry among the Poles outside of Poland. He likes to travel and read.
AN INTERVIEW WITH FR. PIOTR DUDEK, OMI, OUR NEW PASTOR
First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to you for such a warm welcome. I am happy to share with you a few thoughts about my faith journey as a priest and religious. I thank God for His call to be a priest and a Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate.
1. Where were you born and raised?
I was born in Zdunska Wola, a city name famous for being the birthplace of Saint Maximilian Kolbe. Also, Saint Faustyna Kowalska was born just 60 km from my place of birth.
2. Can you share a bit about your family: parents, siblings?
I grew up in the difficult time of the economic crisis and Solidarity movement in Poland. In the eighties, some of my family members were imprisoned by the communist government. My father and mother courageously risked his career in the name of freedom and truth. I thank God for my parents every day. They gave me an example of defending Christian values and beliefs and immense trust in God. My beloved mother past away in 2005. My father lives in Poland. Providence has designed for me to be an only child.
3. Have you always wanted/felt/called to be a priest? Was there any defining moment or event where you felt God's call?
I remember that as a little boy I “celebrated masses” in my room. At the age of six, I began ministering as an altar server, then as a lector. I really wanted to be an altar server, to be close to the altar. My parish church was also a major Seminary church for the Orionine Fathers (FDP). It was this environment that gave birth to my vocation as a religious and a priest. After completing matriculation examination in the biochemical field, I entered the Oblate Noviciate at Święty Krzyż (Poland) and on the 8th of September 1991, I had made my first profession as a Missionary Oblate. Later that same year, I started studies in philosophy and theology at a major Oblate Seminary in Obra (Poland). In due time, I graduated with a Master’s Degree from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan.
On the 17th of February 1996, I had made my perpetual oblation in the presence of Father Superior General Marcello Zago OMI. In June of the same year, I had received my ordination to diaconate from the hands of Bishop Eugeniusz Jureczko OMI from Cameroon. Then my superiors had sent me to minister in our relatively new mission in Ukraine.
On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary (2000), I have received my priestly ordination from the hands of Archbishop Nicola Eterovic, papal Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine. During my stay in Ukraine, I had ministered in various Ukrainian, Polish and Russian ethnic parishes. For the first five years, I worked in Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine. My next placement was a village parish near Vinnytsia in central Ukraine, then Chernihiv (in the northern Ukraine, close to Chernobyl and the border with Belarus), and Pavlohrad (in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine). Along with Oblate brothers, we worked hard to develop and organize the community and spiritual life in the area previously heavily laicized. The time I have spent working in the Lord’s Vineyard overlooking the Dniepr river was a time of a witness to God’s great power working through our missionary effort and among the faithful. It was also a time to gain a deeper understanding of human frailty as well as the strength of the human spirit. My approach to ministry and to the faithful has undergone a number of revisions. I began to be more hopeful as to the actual fruits of my missionary effort.
4. In which parishes have you worked before being assigned to come to St. Mary Our Lady Queen of Poland?
Saint Pope John Paul II wrote in his Ut Unum Sint that the Church must breathe with her two lungs. Both, the Latin and Eastern traditions contribute to the health of the Church. I am grateful to God for having a missionary experience of both, the Eastern Tradition, and Latin Tradition of the Church.
After 9 years of my ministry in Ukraine, I began my ministry in the Western Church. I stood on Canadian soil, facing new challenges and new experiences. I begin a ministry among the Poles outside of Poland, in an Oblate parish in Toronto Area (Brampton) under the auspice of our founder, St. Eugene de Mazenod. He knew all too well what it meant to be an immigrant. Then I served in our missions and parishes in New Foundland and Labrador, Manitoba, British Columbia and Ontario. Besides, I had a wonderful time to discover the beauty and power of the Catholic church in the U.S. ministering at St. Joseph the Worker Shrine in Lowell, MA. My last assignment was St. Maximillian Kolbe Parish in Mississauga (ON) - the largest ethnic Polish parish outside of Poland.
Now, I am in Thunder Bay beginning my journey with you in St. Mary's. I entrust my ministry to the care of Our Immaculate Mary and St. Joseph - the Patron Saint of this 2021 year.
5. What's your message to the entire parishioners of St. Mary's?
Beloved Parishioners, I will begin my ministry with you by taking time and making a concerted effort to get to know you, personally, and as a faith community. I would like to listen to you and to hear about your hopes and joys, as well as your concerns and struggles. The primary goal of my leadership is to encourage and inspire you to embrace your Baptismal commitment, striving always towards building a joyful and welcoming faith community.
God bless you in all you do and will do to the community of St. Mary's. Let's start our journey of faith together holding fast to the hand of Mary Our Mather.
WE invite you for the HOUR OF GRACE to ST. Mary Our Lady Queen of Poland church.
Day and time of Hour of Grace: December 8th, Feast of the Immaculate Conception from 12 noon to 1 pm. One full hour of individual prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
During this hour the person making the 'Hour of Grace' must put away all distractions but totally concentrate on your union with God during this Special Hour of Grace. Begin the Hour of Grace by praying three times the 51st Psalm with outstretched arms. The rest of the Hour of Grace may be spent in silent communication with God, meditating upon the Passion of Jesus, saying the Holy Rosary, praising God in your own way or by using favorite prayers, hymns, meditating upon other Psalms, etc.