I was born on March 10, 1988 in the small town of Krasnystaw.
I am the second child of Joseph and Anna Kiszka. I have a one year older brother, Greg. For the first six years of my life I lived with my family in the village of Tarzymiechy. Then we moved to an apartment in a family building in the village of Wierzba. I lived there until joining the seminary at 19 years of age.
From an early age I showed a lot of energy and commitment to everything I did. I was a very active child and discovered the world around me. I picked up the knowledge quickly and I had no problems in school.
During high school I did my best to help my parents with work on the farm. Always after school I rode a bicycle to the village of Chomęciska Małe where we had a horse farm. There was always a lot of work and because of that I was devoting less time to study. And because the duties were more important, I couldn’t take part in the sports I liked.
During that period of my life I joined a Catholic youth group. It allowed me to better understand the role of God in my life. Thanks to that community, I was able to discern my calling.
I entered the seminary in 2007. During the time of seminary formation I gained the necessary academic and life knowledge.
After five years of study, I had a wonderful parish practice in the parish of Słomczyn. I was able to experience how this small parish community functioned.
After that year I decided to leave to again discern my vocation and see how ordinary people's lives in the city looked like. I asked for secular leave and lived in Warsaw. I went to work to earn a living.
I also remembered about the priestly formation and often visited my superiors at the seminary. After finishing the secular leave I went back to the sixth year of my studies at the seminary. After graduation I started the practice at St. Anna Parish in Piaseczno, which I finished in 2016.
In the same year, I moved to America. At the beginning of my journey in the United States, I lived in Bartimaeus House in Boonton. After that, I moved to Saint Rose of Lima Parish in East Hanover. In 2017, upon being ordained as a deacon, I was sent to Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Whippany, where I lived until June 29
th, 2018.
After my ordination as a priest, Bishop Serratelli assigned me as parochial vicar at St. Patrick Church in Chatham. On June 13
th 2019, I started my new assignment at Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Sparta, and I am very happy to be here with you!
Father Kamil Kiszka