The new administrative and spiritual head of St. John Vianney Catholic Church, Father Kieran Kleczewski, was once the envy of his schoolmates.

During the 1950s and 1960s in Green Bay, Wis., members of NFL’s Green Bay Packers would regularly come to his parents’ house. Kleczewski’s father, a tailor by trade, measured the dimensions of each massive man for custom clothing ordered by the football organization.

Kleczewski’s mother, one might imagine, stood by and took photos of the famous athletes. A professional photographer by trade, she had once worked in post-war Germany’s nascent film industry.

“She didn’t tell me this story until after my ordination,” Kleczewski said of his mother, who had given birth to him only a year after being told she would never bring a baby to term. “When they brought me in to her, she said, ‘Well, God, you gave this gift to me, so I give him to you.’”

After finishing college, Kleczewski made good on his mother’s promise, entering the monastery in order to work with students who were considering becoming priests.

“A big part of seminary is discernment — is this what I’m supposed to do?”

In 1978, Kleczewski himself became a priest. His fully ordained career began, largely in the university setting, where he enjoyed teaching and being taught. He picked up a master’s degree in Hellenistic studies from Indiana University and a Ph.D. in European history from Georgetown University.

In 1994, Kleczewski moved back to Arizona, where he and his parents had moved in 1965. He briefly directed Northern Arizona University’s Holy Trinity Newman Center before being named the pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Avondale.

To read the full story, see the Wednesday, July 29, edition of the Sedona Red Rock News.