Parishes are like family for Bishop John Siemianowski

Five years ago, Auxiliary Bishop John Siemianowski was fairly certain he knew how the rest of his priestly ministry would play out.

He had been a pastor in Chicago Heights for nearly a quarter-century, the whole time at St. Agnes, but with time shepherding St. Paul and St. Kieran parishes as well.

“I think if you asked the people there, they’d say I was a good priest,” said Bishop Siemianowski, 64, who also served as executive secretary of the Priest Placement Board. “And I thought I would retire from there.”

But the union of parishes under the Renew My Church restructuring phase changed his plans, creating a new parish that needed a pastor who was more fluent in Spanish, Bishop Siemianowski said. Auxiliary Bishop Mark Bartosic suggested that Bishop Siemianowksi consider moving to the far Northwest Side, to St. Juliana, which was in Bishop Bartosic’s Vicariate II.

Now Bishop Siemianowski is episcopal vicar for Vicariate II, which includes parts of the North and Northwest sides and north suburbs.

He accepted the offer to become pastor at St. Juliana, but not without some nerves.

“When you’re 61, 62, and moving to a new parish, you wonder, can I fall in love again?” Bishop Siemianowski said. “Because that’s what happens when a pastor comes to a parish. You fall in love.”

For Bishop Siemianowski, parishes are like family, and family is very important to him. He is the youngest of six children in his family, and was 8 years old when his father died, leaving his mother a widow at age 40. His oldest sister was 18.

“In some ways, I think because of that, we all stayed very close,” Bishop Siemianowski said.

The family also relied on the kindness of people in Our Lady of Charity Parish in Cicero. The children stayed in the parish school, “even though I know my mother couldn’t pay tuition,” Siemianowski said. “And the food that showed up on the porch — not for days, but for years — and the bags of hand-me-down clothing, those all came from people in the parish. ... I saw church in action,” Bishop Siemianowski said. “I saw what I hope being church means.”

Still, he didn’t seriously consider priesthood until he was graduating from Southern Illinois University with a degree in science and a teaching certificate. A priest from the campus ministry there advised him to return to Chicago, where his family was, get a job and then, if he still felt a call to priesthood, it would be there for him.

That was exactly what he did, joining a vocations group for post-college men hosted by Father Jack Wall at Old St. Pat’s Parish. After a year in the group, he entered the University of St. Mary of the Lake and was ordained in 1989.

He was associate pastor of St. Francis de Sales Parish in Lake Zurich, St. Mary Parish in Buffalo Grove and St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Orland Hills before being named pastor of St. Agnes in 1996.

Odessa Simich, who taught junior high English at St. Agnes School for more than 30 years, remembers thinking he was the new janitor the first time she met him. She told him she had a lot of things he needed to look at.

“He never stopped to tell me that he was going to sign my paychecks,” she laughed. “He made a good impression, in that he let all of us be who we were.”

But he didn’t just let things be, she said. He saw potential in the school, which had seen its enrollment drop, and converted what had been the third-floor convent into junior high classroom, then added a new preschool on the first floor.

“It just took off,” Simich recalled. “The numbers went up, the enrollment went up, the classrooms were full. Father John came in and we were all in the same-old, same-old rut, and he shook everything up. He’s a man of vision. He can look at something and see the potential that’s there.”

An ability to see people’s talents and strengths and a commitment to inviting everyone to be more involved made Bishop Siemianowski a beloved pastor, she said.

Asked what would make Bishop Siemianowski a good fit for his new role, Simich said, “I think his vision, his honest assessment and his willingness to work. He never thinks something is just going to happen without the work, and he’s very willing to throw himself into it. He’s very hands-on, and he’s very future-oriented. I think we’re in need of some of those attributes.”

Bishop Siemianowski said his long career in Chicago Heights helped him get to know the families he ministered to.

“There were kids I baptized who I did their weddings,” he said. “It grounded me. Being there so long created strong relationships with parishioners and staff people.”

At St. Juliana, he embraced working with the Co-Implementation Model, in which evangelization leaders from the archdiocese partner with parishes to develop the parishes’ capacity to reach out to people in their communities who are less engaged with the church or are not practicing a faith. Doing so, Bishop Siemianowski said, has given the parish new life.

“We’ve seen growth in leadership, growth in parishioners who are excited about their faith, who are talking about their faith,” he said. “Can you tell me a story about how Jesus has touched you? As Catholics, we don’t share our stories. It’s like this secret we hold on to.”

Bishop Siemianowski said the change in parishes has been good for him, and parishioners said it was good for the parish as well.

Marie Dombai, pastoral assistant at St. Juliana, said Bishop Siemianowski’s decision to hire her allows her to use the skills she learned as she participated with her husband, Tom, in his diaconate formation.

“He gave me the opportunity to do what was needed at St. Juliana,” Dombai said.

Siemianowski’s openness to using the talents and gifts of parishioners has helped draw people into leadership, and is instrumental to the success of the Co-Implementation Model.

Barb Ernat, St. Juliana’s coordinator of hospitality and engagement, agreed.

“From the onset, it was like meeting an old friend,” said Ernat, who also has children in St. Juliana School. “His demeanor is very welcoming and friendly, and he’s always smiling.”

Ernat said Bishop Siemianowski made an effort to fit into the St. Juliana community. And, she said, he doesn’t expect anyone to do work he wouldn’t do.

“We’ve been doing the Alpha program, and that involves a meal,” she said. “When it’s time to clean up, he rolls up his sleeves. He’s not afraid to do dishes.”

Bishop Siemianowski said that he likes being with people, and that he finds it easy to see the good in them and in the world.

“I’m pretty good at letting things go,” he added, “so I don’t hold onto anger. I don’t have time for that.”