SS. Cyril & Methodius Seminary changes with the times, but Gospel remains the same

ORCHARD LAKE — “If the Orchard Lake Schools did not exist, it would be necessary to create them.” – St. John Paul the Great.

Not many schools have an endorsement from the pope on the walls of its athletic center.

But then again, there isn’t another school quite like the Orchard Lake Schools.

Orchard Lake Schools — now comprised of SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary, St. Mary’s Preparatory and The Polish Mission — was founded as the “Polish seminary” on Detroit’s east side in December 1886.

In 1909, the school moved to its Orchard Lake location, on the grounds of the former Michigan Military Academy.

“SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary and the Orchard Lake Schools were established because there was a need for Polish-speaking priests for the Polish parishes,” said Fr. Miroslaw Krol, who was made chancellor of the Orchard Lake Schools last fall, on Oct. 3.

“Originally, SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary was preparing men for the priesthood who were sons of immigrants who came from Poland,” Fr. Krol said. “At the time, guys were coming from Polish-speaking homes and were learning English as a second language.”

Mission: United States

One-hundred and thirty two years later, the mission of SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary hasn’t changed. But the makeup of the seminarians is different.

The seminary currently has 12 men enrolled, all from Poland. In the recent decades, SS. Cyril and Methodius has served as a beachhead for Polish priests who want to study abroad and evangelize the “mission territory” that is the United States.

“Our mission is to prepare priests for the hundreds of Polish parishes throughout the United States,” Fr. Krol said. “We now are seeing Polish parishes growing in places like Florida and Arizona, states where Polish people are moving.”

The height of Polish immigration to the United States was in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, so the number of those who speak Polish as a first language has dwindled.

But Fr. Krol added “Polish-ness” isn’t restricted to language.

“Even for many people who were born here and attended Catholic schools, they learned the sacraments in Polish,” Fr. Krol said. “I myself have encountered a man who only likes to do his confession in Polish. I remember the words for of Cardinal (Adam) Maida, when Cardinal (Stanislaw) Dziwisz (former secretary of St. John Paul II) was visiting SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary. Cardinal Maida said, ‘The Polish people sing in Polish, dance in Polish and have Polish souls; even though they don’t speak Polish.’”

The seminary often hosts Polish dignitaries, including Cardinal Dziwisz, who was to visit the campus March 7-8.

Cyril and Methodius Seminary’s graduates add a “Polish flavor” to parishes across the country, incorporating Polish spirituality and devotions to parish life.

“Poland is very Catholic, but it is also ecumenical,” said Fr. Michael Woroniewicz, who was installed Jan. 30 as rector of SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary and will serve in that capacity until July 1, when he will become pastor of Divine Grace Parish in Carleton. “Parish life is different in Poland than it is here. In Poland the priest runs the parish; here lay people are involved in parish staff. But what Polish priests offer the Church in the United States is introducing Polish cultures to the various ethnicities in America.”



Fr. Woroniewicz said Poland’s history of devotion to the Catholic Church forms a spirituality that translates to all languages and cultures.

“Polish seminarians are coming from a country that for so many centuries had Christianity, which has always been faithful to Catholicism, God and Church,” said Fr. Woroniewicz. “For many seminarians, the draw of coming from Poland is that with the current number of clergy in Poland, they might not be a pastor for decades. But if they come here, they become pastors more quickly, because they are needed.”

Adapting to a new culture

Fr. Radoslaw Zablocki, associate pastor of St. Thecla Parish in Clinton Township, where he is also the director of the parish food pantry, was ordained in 2015 after graduating from SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary.

Originally from Kolo in Greater Poland, Fr. Zablocki originally entered the seminary for the Diocese of Wloclawek before learning about SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary at the school’s formation house in Krakow.

“When I joined the house in Krakow, where I first made contact with the seminary, I was with guys also interested in studying in America,” Fr. Zablocki said. “We were learning English; in our free time we had Mass in the English language. It was a good preparation for priesthood there.”

After discernment, prayer and “inspiration from God, Jesus and my guardian angels,” Fr. Zablocki came to the United States to study at Orchard Lake, taking classes not only in philosophy and theology, but also English and American culture.

There are plenty of differences between priestly life in Poland and the United States, Fr. Zablocki said. In Poland, priests tend to be more rigid and manage all aspects of parish life, as opposed to the more relaxed nature of American priests, who greet parishioners before and after Mass.

Fr. Zablocki added Polish Catholics tend to be more reserved about going to Communion when they feel they aren’t in a state of grace, something he has brought up at St. Thecla to encourage parishioners to take advantage of the sacrament of reconciliation.

“We are still living in the universal Church, but there are differences between Polish Catholicism and American Catholicism,” Fr. Zablocki said. “But I see a joy in people when they see I’m a Polish priest. You don’t have to be Polish to appreciate Polish food, Polish music, the warm way Polish people greet each other.”

But more so than bringing Polish flavor to American parishes, Fr. Zablocki said the mission of Polish priests in the United States is very much the mission of priests everywhere.



“The mission is still the same: spread the Gospel and the kingdom of God,” Fr. Zablocki said. “As a diocesan priest, I’m here to serve the people of the diocese, so I don’t make any big distinctions between a Polish parish or a non-Polish parish. I want to be in a parish to serve.

“This is a vocation; it’s not like saying, ‘I like the United States, I’ll go to the United States,’” Fr. Zablocki said. “Someone with such an attitude can fail. You need prayer, praying you keep that missionary spirit to be a priest in the archdiocese.”

Not just for Poland

Studying along the shores of Orchard Lake on a warm spring day, it becomes easy to find God’s love in His creation. For 132 years, the mission of Orchard Lake Schools and SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary has been to prepare men for the priesthood.

“When I came here in August, I told the regents at the installation Mass there are challenges we’re facing,” Fr. Krol said, reflecting on the future of the school. “I quoted St. John Paul, adding, ‘Thank God we don’t have to start from scratch. We don’t have to start from the beginning.’ We have a mission to preserve this place.

“We need to make sure that the mission is growing with a strong Catholic identity,” Fr. Krol added. “We’re open to all others. People come visit our grotto from all different cultures; the Chaldeans, the Irish, Italians, Mexicans, Koreans — all love this place. We have this magnetic power of St. John Paul II, who brought people here. We have his relic, his blood, a symbol of his presence. We have his great teaching and care for the Church.

“We want everyone to know all are welcome. This isn’t just a place for Polish people; this is a place for everybody to learn the richness of the faith, and the love God has for everybody.”