Father Thomas A Roslak
Father Roslak, 44, was born in Brooklyn, the son of Gertrude and the late Frank Roslak. The family later moved to Staten Island. His parents were deeply devout and prayerful. Father Roslak said that attending Mass as a boy, he found it “fascinating” that “Christ was present with us, and the priest had something to do with that.” He admired the priests in his parish. “I knew as a very young boy that that was what I wanted,” he said. But he took a detour: he started working in his teens in a family business, earned a degree in liberal arts at the College of Staten Island and then went into media work. He socialized with friends, traveled and dated — casually, he said, because he knew in his heart that he wanted to enter the seminary. He fulfilled family responsibilities that had to be attended to before he could make a commitment to a vocation. “Even though I wasn’t actively at some point in my life pursuing the priesthood, it was always there,” he said. “It was always gnawing at me.”
Through the years he attended daily Mass, went to confession regularly and received spiritual direction. One day, sitting on an express bus en route to work, he thought, “You’re not happy with your life, and you know why, because you know what’s missing.” When he experienced that decisive moment on the express bus, he was spiritually prepared, but even then he hesitated. Priesthood seemed like “an unreachable goal”. He thought about the years of hard work he’d have to put in, but he told himself, “This is what I want, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get there.”
In 2004 he left his job to attend St. John’s University full time. He entered the Neumann Residence the following year and received a degree in philosophy in 2006. As a seminarian, he served as a parish catechist, visited patients at Calvary Hospital, coordinated teen retreats at the seminary and gave retreats at Archbishop Stepinac High School. He served summer assignments at St. Philip Neri parish in the Bronx.
He’s looking forward to being able to do what drew him to priesthood in the first place: celebrating Mass. He’d also like to be involved in ministry to homeless persons. “I have a special feeling for people in that kind of suffering,” he said.
Reflecting on his decision to enter the seminary, he said, “I wish I did this sooner.” At the same time, he believes it was “no accident” but rather God’s will that put him in the class he’s in, with the seminarians he has studied and prayed with. But he has a message for any man who believes he has a vocation: “God is giving you an invitation, and he’s willing to wait, but don’t make him wait.” (Excerpt from Catholic New York, May 6, 2010)
Father Roslak was ordained by Archbishop Timothy Dolan at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on May 15, 2010. He celebrated his first Mass at Holy Rosary Church on Staten Island on Sunday, May 16th. Father Roslak has been appointed to St. Augustine’s Parish, New City.
