Our Pastor

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Rev. Dr. Adam Piekarzewski was born in Szczecin, Poland, in 1983. From 2002 to 2005, he studied philosophy at the Salesian Seminary in central Poland. In 2007, he was sent to Jerusalem (Israel) to pursue theological studies at the Studium Theologicum Salesianum Ratisbonne. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem ordained him a deacon in 2010 at the Basilica of Gethsemani.

While studying in Israel, Fr. Adam also earned an official license as a guide to the Holy Land and has since led numerous pilgrimage groups through Israel, Palestine, Egypt, and Jordan. He completed his Master’s degree in Theology in 2011 and was ordained to the Holy Priesthood on June 25, 2011, in his hometown of Szczecin by Bishop Andrzej Dzięga.

Following his ordination, Fr. Adam served for two years as an assistant priest in Piła, Poland, where he oversaw the youth center and pastoral ministry for young people. In 2013, he moved to Rome, Italy, to study psychology at the Salesian Pontifical University. He graduated in 2017 with a Master’s degree in Developmental and Educational Psychology and returned to Poland to work as a psychologist in two public schools in Lebork.

In July 2018, Fr. Adam relocated to the United States and began his formation at the Savonarola Theological Seminary of the Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) in Scranton, PA. On September 1, 2018, he was appointed administrator of St. John the Baptist Parish in Manchester, Connecticut, and was officially installed as pastor on March 23, 2020.

In January 2024, Fr. Adam earned his Doctorate in Clinical Counseling. He has authored two books. His first, Caveman in the City: The Evolutionary Disconnect – Why Our Ancient Brain Struggles Today (available on Amazon: LINK), explores how traits inherited from early human ancestors – once essential for survival – now often clash with modern society, contributing to loneliness, anxiety, and disconnection. Blending evolutionary psychology with practical insights, Fr. Adam offers readers a fresh lens to understand their inner struggles in today’s world. His second book, The Anatomy of Loneliness: Psychological and Spiritual Perspectives (available on Amazon: LINK), draws on attachment theory, neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, and Christian theological anthropology to reframe loneliness not as a personal defect or social failure, but as an intrinsic dimension of being human – one that ultimately points toward our orientation to God.

In addition to his pastoral ministry within the PNCC, Fr. Adam serves as a professor of psychology at CT State Community College and Southern New Hampshire University. He also teaches Moral Theology at the Savonarola Theological Seminary in Scranton, PA.

Contact info: dr.adampiekarzewski [at] gmail.com

 

PREVIOUS PASTORS of St. John’s Parish:

  • Rev. Henryk Smolinski (2010-2018)
  • Rev. Dr. Zbigniew Stanisław Kaszubski (1996-2009)
  • Rev. Stanley Loncola (1983-1996)
  • Rev. Walter A. Hyszko (1959-1983)
  • Rev. Kent Kulawasz (1957-1959)
  • Rev. Stefan S. Stryjewski (1948-1957)
  • Rev. Paweł Kozłowski (1945-1948)
  • Rev. Zygmunt Szczepkowski (1940-1945)
  • Rev. Leon F. Wiechec (1939-1940)
  • Rev. Ludwik Kaczorowski (1939) – served for several months
  • Rev. Józef Hieronim Ziemba (1937-1939)
  • Rev. Dr. Henryk Szczepkowski (1936-1937)
  • Rev. Michał Kronenberg (1935-1936)
  • Rev. Bazyli Sychta (1935) – served for several months
  • Rev. Franciszek Miklaszewski (1935) – served for several months
  • Rev. Piotr Latas (1930-1935)
  • Rev. A. J. Przyjemski (1930) – served for several months
  • Rev. Stanisław S. Guzik (1929)