Father Richard Kluk’s ordination a time of renewal and gratitude

Priestly ordination of Richard Kluk at the Cathedral of St. Helena, Dec. 10, 2010 (The Montana Catholic/Eric Connolly photo).
 

By Susan Gallagher

Deacon Richard Kluk, a software developer years ago when he was called to discern life in the priesthood, became Father Richard Kluk in the rite of ordination at the Cathedral of St. Helena on Dec. 10.

It was “a jubilee day” for everyone in the Diocese of Helena, a day of renewal for priests and a day of gratitude for western Montana’s people of God, Bishop George Leo Thomas said. The bishop celebrated the ordination, with Msgr. Kevin O’Neil, V.G., and priests of the diocese concelebrating.

A transitional deacon since last spring, Father Kluk, 57, has been serving Anaconda Catholic Community and will continue ministering there as a diocesan priest.

“I’m feeling a lot of joy, gladness,” he said after the ordination. “There was nervousness earlier, and there’s a little bit now because it’s an awesome responsibility and task that God has given me.” For the ordination liturgy, he chose the Gospel of Luke, emphasizing the priesthood’s ministerial and service dimensions. Father Kluk joins 54 priests in active ministry in the diocese.

Friends and colleagues describe him as caring, compassionate, easygoing, affable and “well-suited for the rhythm and rigor of parish life,” Bishop Thomas said in his homily.

Father Kluk was born in Lincoln, Ill., to Polish immigrants, who are now deceased, attended Catholic schools and holds a master’s degree in computer science. His seminary studies for the Diocese of Helena began at Oregon’s Mount Angel in 2003 after brief associations with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Vincentian religious community.

Priestly ordination of Richard Kluk at the Cathedral of St. Helena, Dec. 10, 2010 (The Montana Catholic/Eric Connolly photo). Priestly spirituality is centered on the celebration of the Eucharist, said the bishop, who also emphasized the importance of the ministry of the Word. It is “a source of nourishment for yourself as well as for God’s people,” he told Father Kluk.

It is easy for a priest to seek the company of the successful and affluent in a parish, but he always must “make room for everyone in the sanctuary of his soul, with special attention to the marginalized, the lowly and the poor,” Bishop Thomas said. “With the heart of the Good Shepherd, you must constantly ask, ‘Who is not at the table?’” and then seek those who live “in the shadows of the Church and society. Be present, Richard, at the bedsides of the dying, the jail and prison cell, the halls of the hospital and the homes of the homebound.”

In finishing his homily, the bishop thanked Father Kluk for “laying your life down in loving service to God’s holy people in the Diocese of Helena.”

During the ordination, Deacon Kluk stood before the bishop and responded to questions regarding his willingness to undertake priestly ministry, and during the Litany of the Saints lay prostrate as a sign of submission to the will of God. Bishop Thomas and priests of the diocese laid hands upon him and the Bishop prayed the Prayer of Ordination. He was vested with a stole and chasuble, his hands were anointed with the Sacred Chrism, and he knelt before the bishop to receive the bread and wine for the Eucharist. The newly ordained Father Kluk then joined Bishop Thomas to concelebrate Mass for the first time.

Priestly ordination of Richard Kluk at the Cathedral of St. Helena, Dec. 10, 2010 (The Montana Catholic/Eric Connolly photo). The ordination, which included a 15- man Knights of Columbus honor guard in full regalia, drew people from many parts of the diocese and beyond. Charles Ligocki, 28, came from Huntsville, Ala., in place of his father, Preston, who had wanted to attend.

“My dad’s in the hospital and he couldn’t come, so I came instead,” said the son. A couple of years before he was born, his father and Father Kluk became co-workers at a company in Chicago. Later they had the same employer in California. Over the years, the friendship included getting together on holidays, Charles Ligocki said.

Anaconda parishioner Dan Oberweiser was a reader during the ordination and got to know Father Kluk during the months he was a transitional deacon. Oberweiser’s service in Anaconda has included helping with parish youth programs. He said he was strengthened by the ordination and found it “a very powerful, blessed day.”

When 10-year-old Anaconda Catholic Community parishioner Seamus Hoolahan was asked what he and others can do to support priests, he offered a simple, powerful suggestion: “Tell them they’re doing a good job and to keep it up.” Seamus was among the busload of ACC parishioners that witnessed their new parochial vicar’s ordination. Over 50 diocesan priests, including many senior status priests, joined in the celebration.


Published in The Montana Catholic Online, Volume 26, No. 12, December 17, 2010.


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