Parish Leadership
We are blessed to have Rev. Marek Król as our pastor!
Below is an expert from the Catholic Herald article celebrating Father Marek’s 25th Jubilee in July 2020:
Father Marek Król was born in Kartuzy, a small town next to Gdansk in northern Poland. He is the second oldest of four children. “My family was always involved in the Church’s life,” Father Król said. “As a teenager, I participated in the parish youth group. It was during the reign of Communism, so the church was not just a place of spiritual experience, but also a place of freedom.
I decided to join the seminary when I was 19 years old.” The seminary was located Pelplin, a town that was founded roughly 700 years ago by the Cistercian order. “We actually lived in the building constructed by them,” he said. Father Król was ordained for the Diocese of Pelplin on June 4, 1995, along with 31 other priests. After ordination, he became part of a group called “Fidei Donum,” which is made up of priests who are ready to serve around the world wherever there is a need. “Before I came to the United States, I served in Poland, Papua New Guinea and the United Kingdom,” Father Król said.
“I was encouraged to come to Colorado Springs by some friends that I’ve known for a long time.” He arrived in the U.S. on Sept. 1, 2011. In the Diocese of Colorado Springs, Father Król has served as pastor of Our Lady of the Visitation Parish in Elizabeth and Pax Christi Parish in Littleton. He was recently appointed parochial administrator [edit: now Pastor as of July 22, 2020] of Our Lady of the Woods Parish in Woodland Park.
“Priesthood for me is a life, a call that is not necessarily based on enjoying things but rather on being something,” said Father Król in reflecting on his 25th anniversary of ordination. “The longer that I am a priest, the more I see that my state of spirit comes not from work but from the grace of God. You can have the most successful pastoral work and never find joy. If I could point to one element that gives me joy, it would be inner peace. I can get mad, frustrated, or disappointed, but at the end of the day, if I did what God asked of me, then all other things will not matter.”
As for his advice to a young man who might be considering the priesthood, Father Król had this to offer: “First, listen carefully to what God says to you. Secondly, love those who hate you. Finally, you have to deny yourself in a good way. The less there is of you, the more God is in you. It doesn’t matter where God sends you. What matters is that you are ready to leave everything and go.”
Parish Staff
Finance Council
The bishop heads the diocese and appoints a priest as pastor to serve and manage each parish community on his behalf. The pastor is ultimately responsible for all parish finances. Church Law ( Canon 1280 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law ) and diocesan norms recognize the tremendous responsibility given to pastors in the realm of parish finances. Accordingly every parish is required to have a parish finance council. The pastor is responsible for assembling the parish finance council. The parish finance council is an advisory body whose membership should include individuals skilled in finance, civil law, construction/engineering or business.
Members are appointed by the pastor. The parish finance council will:
- Assist in the preparation of the annual budget.
- Assist in monitoring financial reports and the annual budget on an ongoing (at least quarterly) basis.
- Assist the pastor in assuring that the financial statements are presented to the parish community (at least annually).
- Assist in the implementation of acceptable internal control practices including reviewing and implementing diocesan policies.
- Assist the pastor in evaluating the impact on parish finances and administration of leasing parish properties to an outside organization.
Jim Furfari
Chairman
Justin Curlee
Bob Bowers
Ed Monjesky
Steve Ruder
Chris Schwester
Art Wannlund
Pastoral Council
The Parish Pastoral Council members function as an integrated body of the faithful that forms a dynamic, consultative resource to the pastor and to Teller County Catholic Community. United as a leadership team their goal is to achieve our parish mission.
Pastoral Council activities focus on nurturing our individual and collective lives in the living Christ by:
- Actively bond parishioners into a cohesive community.
- Establishing plans, goals, and policies in collaboration with the Pastoral staff, Finance Council, and parish committee leaders to live the Gospel.
- Coordination and consistent review of the effectiveness of parish ministries, projects, processes and systems toward achieving goals, as well as recommending changes as appropriate.
- Guiding our faith community in living our Christian call to be evangelists and practice good stewardship of time, talent, and treasure.