Administrator Appointed to Corpus Christi Parish

Buffalo, NY – Fr. Joseph Olczak, O.S.P.P.E., Provincial Superior of the Pauline Fathers, has announced the appointment of Fr. Mariusz Dymek, O.S.P.P.E., as Administrator of Corpus Christi Parish, at 199 Clark Street, Buffalo.

Fr. Olczak, who is the head of the Pauline Order in the United States, also announced that he has suspended Fr. Matthew Wydmanski, O.S.P.P.E., the previous pastor, from his priestly duties because Fr. Wydmanski left the country without permission and returned to his native Poland.

The Provincial Superior’s swift appointment of new leadership for Corpus Christi, as well as his official censure of Fr. Matthew for his flight from justice, underscore the Pauline Order’s deep commitment to this historic parish and to the Western New York community that has so generously contributed to the revitalization of this magnificent church.

Fr. Dymek, 34, is a native of Pita, Poland. He received an M.A. in Theology from the Pontifical Institute of Theology in Krakow. He took his final vows in the Pauline Order in 2001, and was ordained to the priesthood at the Monastery of Jasna Gora in 2002.

Fr. Dymek served in a parish in Oporow, Poland from 2002 to 2004, where he also taught high school religion classes, and served as a prison Chaplain. Fr. Dymek then came to the United States and studied English at Baruch College in New York City. He served as Director of the Memorial Department at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, PA from 2005 to 2007, and as Parochial Vicar at St. Mark’s Parish in Summerfield, Florida from 2007 to 2009. He has been serving at St. Casimir’s Parish in Yonkers since 2009.

“I m looking forward to working with the people of Corpus Christi parish to build a strong spiritual presence on the East Side, and to complete the major renovation and restoration projects currently underway,” Fr. Dymek said. He is particularly excited to see the progress on the restoration of the mural over the high altar, known as the Disputa, and on the South Tower of the church.

Fr. Olczak and Fr. Dymek thanked the many donors and volunteers who have made, and continue to make, this vital restoration work possible on one of Buffalo’s most important historical landmarks.