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Contact:
Rev. James Vlaun & Karen Montalbano
FOUR TO BE ORDAINED TO THE PRIESTHOOD FOR THE DIOCESE OF
ROCKVILLE CENTRE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 10, 2004
ROCKVILLE CENTRE - Four men will be ordained priests of the Diocese
of Rockville Centre on Saturday, June 12, 2004. Bishop William
Murphy will ordain Gregory F. Breen, Robert J. Kline, Dariusz Koszyk,
and Thomas J. Pers at an 11 a.m. ceremony at St. Agnes Cathedral
here.
Each of the four has completed a minimum of five years of study and
formation for the priesthood, including one year spent in a parish.
All seminarians are required to do this so they learn and experience
the life of a priest firsthand. Each man has earned a Masters of
Divinity degree and has been ordained to the transitional diaconate,
earning them the temporary title of “deacon.”
Gregory F. Breen was born in Jamaica, Queens on May 5, 1957
to the late Dr. Francis J. and Miriam Schwank Breen. The oldest of
five children, he attended his parish grammar school at St. Edward
the Confessor in Syosset, St. Pius X Preparatory High School in
Uniondale, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in French Language and
Literature from Columbia University. He pursued graduate studies at
NYU and Cornell University.
Deacon Breen spent two decades working in administrative and
management jobs before entering the seminary and he feels those
experiences will be helpful in his vocation as a priest. He served
his pastoral year at St. James Church in Seaford where he enjoyed
teaching in the religious education programs for both children and
adults. He has served as a deacon at Our Holy Redeemer Church in
Freeport since last March.
He will celebrate his first Mass at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 13 at
St. Edward the Confessor in Syosset.
Robert J. Kline is a native Long Islander who was raised in
Merrick. The oldest of three children, he was born on August 7, 1944
to John C. and the late Evelyn T. Kline and was baptized by his
father’s cousin, Rev. Walter Vetro. Deacon Kline attended his parish
school of Cure of Ars and Chaminade High School. He received a
Bachelor of Science from Holy Cross College and a Masters of
Business Administration from Hofstra University.
While Deacon Kline was working in the investment field, and later
computer programming, he also volunteered to teach religious
education in his parish. He eventually enrolled in the Pastoral
Formation Institute to continue his own religious education before
deciding to study for the priesthood. He served his pastoral year at
the Church of St. Joseph in Ronkonkoma and as a deacon at St. John
of God Church in Central Islip.
He will celebrate his first Mass at St. Joseph’s parish in
Ronkonkoma on Sunday, June 13 at noon.
Darius Koszyk was born on September 4, 1973 in the small town
of Lesko in southeast Poland. The second of six children in the
family of Mieczyslawa and Stanislaw Koszyk, he attended the Catholic
University of Lublin and a diocesan seminary before completing
course work in Theology at the Pontifical Academy in Krakow in 1999.
He arrived in the United States later that year, and began his
studies at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in 2001. He
feels his pastoral year at St. Dominic’s Parish in Oyster Bay
offered him the opportunity to become familiar with the way a parish
operates in this diocese. His ministry at the church included
working in parish outreach and religious education programs as well
as in the parish’s elementary and high schools.
He will celebrate his first Mass at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 13 at
St. Ladislaus in Hempstead.
Thomas J. Pers was born on Long Island on September 24, 1976
to Joseph and Randee M. Pers and was raised in Brightwaters. His
parents and younger brother still live there and attend St. Patrick
Church in Bay Shore. A graduate of Bay Shore public schools, Deacon
Pers earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Gettysburg College in
Pennsylvania in 1998. His work with the Newman Club at the college
sparked his interest in the priesthood and he entered the seminary
after graduation.
Deacon Pers spent his pastoral year at St. William the Abbot Church
in Seaford where he worked in various parish programs, including
religious education, baptismal preparation classes and hospital
ministry. The last few months he has served at St. Patrick Church in
Glen Cove.
He will celebrate his first Mass at his home parish of St. Patrick
in Bay Shore on Sunday, June 13 at 1:00 p.m.
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