A familiar face has taken up residence at Sacred Heart Monastery for the spring semester: Fr. Artur Sanecki, SCJ. A member of the Polish Province, he recently completed his second term on the General Council in Rome and is now in the midst of a sabbatical.
“I began my sabbatical year right after the last General Chapter, in July 2024,” he said. “I divided the first half of this time between Poland, Germany and France, and now I would like to spend the second half of my sabbatical here in the United States. Being in each country, I try to improve my language skills and get to know the SCJ provinces and local Church better. At the same time, I am gathering and preparing materials for possible future ministry. In the past, I was mainly involved in religious formation and teaching in the field of biblical studies in our Dehonian seminary and at the Pontifical University in Krakow. In Rome, I had the opportunity to work with our congregational theological commissions as well as the Centro Studi Dehoniani. During this sabbatical year, I hope to expand and organize the material related to both my biblical interests and Dehonian theology. Time will tell how much I will be able to use this in the future, but I am convinced that this time will not be wasted.
“This is not the first time that I am enjoying the hospitality of our US Province. Starting in the 1990s I had the opportunity to visit the US, participating in ESL programs and doing academic studies. My memory and photo album (not only the digital one!) still contain many good memories of those days.
“This long sabbatical visit is an opportunity to recall those beautiful periods of my life that helped to define my further ministry and to see again so many kind people whom I previously got to know here.”
Welcome Fr. Artur!
