On June 25, St. Mary's welcomed Father Nicholas Zientarski to the Parish as associate pastor. In his first assignment at St. Mary's, Father Nicholas seeks to serve the people of the Parish in any way possible.

Fr. Nicholas grew up in Smithtown. He attended St. Patrick's School where he played soccer and was an Altar Server. Throughout his schooling, Fr. Nicholas attended daily Mass and church retreats during his high school years. "At different points throughout my life, I felt a call to priesthood," said Father Nicholas in an interview.

As a member of a fraternity at Polytechnic University in Farmingdale he was, as he describes, part of a "brotherhood." He majored in mechanical engineering and after graduation, he did work as an engineer for a short period of time. He later entered the diocesan young adult ministry, which fully awakened the possibility of a vocation. He entered the seminary in Huntington in 1998.

Part of his work in the seminary involved traveling to Europe to teach English to seminarians in the Ukraine. Fr. Nicholas also attended a seminar in Germany on Christian Imagination: how our faith is expressed in tangible things, including art and architecture.

"You learn so much in books," says Father Nicholas, referring to his study of scripture and texts. "But nothing compares to when you meet people, and you meet God in them."

Father Nicholas' arrival at St. Mary's comes at a time of much renewal. The parish is preparing to celebrate its 150th Anniversary, and the elementary school new wing will be complete in September. Father Nicholas will have the opportunity to meet and serve the people of St. Mary's Parish at a significant period in its history.