There is very sad news coming from the Province of Puerto Rico. On Saturday morning, August 17, doctors in San Cristóbal de Ponce Ciudad Señorial Hospital in Ponce, Puerto Rico announced the death of Fr. Stanislaw Szczepanik, C.M., a missionary born in Poland and ministering in Puerto Rico for many years. On August 16, Father was found on the street unconscious and with several wounds. There were no witnesses. An anonymous person called emergency services to report the accident. Investigation is under way.
Father Stanislaw had worked in the parish of the Holy Family in Manati for the past three years. He had come to Ponce for two weeks in order to help the confreres in the parish of Milagrosa, where he had been appointed to celebrate the 6:00am Eucharist. The day before, the feast of the Assumption, he celebrated the Eucharist in the Milagrosa church. (Pictures that accompany this story were taken during that Mass). The exact date and time of the incident is unknown. According to the police, Fr. was found lying unconscious next to his bicycle on the Paseo Linear promenade where he liked to do a morning ride. He had no documents, money or cell phone with him because he left them at home. The police were notified about 5:20 a.m. by an anonymous person who saw the priest on the promenade.
According to the first police report (taken at the scene of the incident), Father’s injuries were typical of those resulting from a traffic accident. When he was taken to the Pavia (Dr Pila) de Ponce Clinic an extensive diagnosis was made, which showed numerous injuries (including an open head wound and a fractured skull that could indicate the involvement of some third party). The police initiated an investigation into the case and this investigation is being led by the local Homicide Department in Ponce. At present, however, an unintentional accident is cited as the cause of the incident. It was decided to perform an autopsy at the local institute of forensic medicine on Monday, August 19, expecting it would clarify either that it was an accident or the action of some third party. The police have not given any other details.
After being transported to the hospital, Father Szczepanik did not regain consciousness. Therefore, on Saturday, August 17, a council meeting was held before noon, which confirmed the death of his brain. According to his expressed desire, his organs were then taken for transplanting to others suffering and in need. It was also his desire to be cremated and buried in Poland.
Father Stanisław Szczepanik was born on Feberuary 4, 1956 in the village of Smarżowa near the town of Brzostek, along the road form Krakow to Tarnow in Southern Poland. He was received into the Province of Poland of the Congregation of the Mission in 1981. He took his vows on December 8, 1983 and was ordained a priest on May 25, 1985 in the Vincentian Seminary Church at Stradom in Krakow. The ordaining bishop was Kazimierz Górny, then the auxiliary bishop of Kraków.
During the first two years of his priesthood, he was assigned to minister in the parish in Witoszyn in Western Poland and then later in Grodków, in the diocese of Opole. In 1986 he was sent to the mission in Zaire (the Democratic Republic of Congo), where a group of Polish Vincentians had been ministering foo some years. First, he worked as missionary and few years later he became Spiritual Director at the seminary in Kinshasa. Due to the political situation in the country most of the Vincentian missioners fled from DR Congo in 2000. Fr. Stanisław and Fr. Jarosław Lawrenz moved to Haiti to establish a Vincentian mission there. In 2004 he left for Dominican Republic. In 2008 he was appointed the Director of the Daughters of Charity and moved again. This time to Puerto Rico. In 2011 he returned to Poland. There he worked in the Holy Family parish in Tarnow and a year later moved to the Vincentian seminary in Krakow where he became Spiritual Director and directed the foreign mission secretariat of the Province of Poland. In 2013 Father came back to Puerto Rico. This time he was assigned to the parish in Ponce and later, to Manati.
His Confrere and collaborator Fr. Jaroslaw Lawrenz, C.M. stated in an interview for the Vatican News: Above all, Fr. Stanislaus was an open man, always looking for the best solution for the good of others. He was very hard-working and very demanding of himself. He always wanted to be well prepared for his ministry … The Eucharist was very important for him because it was the place of a special encounter with the Lord.
Confreres from the Porvince of Puerto Rica stated: Father Stanislaw was a great priest, a zealous minister of the Eucharist, a promoter of the Divine Mercy devotion. A deeply spiritual man and his sudden departure has created a vacuum. Nevertheless, he leaves behind a legacy of love for God and love for the Poor … he was a tireless worker, carpenter, first-rate cook, but above all, a great priest always ready to engage in the struggle on behalf of those to whom he ministered. He was a great confessor and spiritual director, Director of the Daughters of Charity in Puerto Rico and spiritual guide of countless men and women, a seminary formatter and a promoter of vocations.
Msgr Daniel Fernández Torres, Bishop of Arecibo addressed his faithful in the local daily “El Nuevo Dia” … he requested prayers for the late Fr. Stanislaw: “With great consternation we received this tragic news. Therefore, we ask the People of God to join us in praying for the eternal rest of Father Stanislaw Szczepanik, Vicar of the parish of the Holy Family in Manatí … may Father be joined now with the Risen One who never abandons those who serve him”.
When funeral details are know we will provide you with that information.
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