Fr. Stefan Ganowicz: A servant attitude

It is with great pleasure that I offer a few words to honour Father Stefan Ganowicz on this very special occasion of his 50th Anniversary of Ordination to the Priesthood! 

Father Stefan was ordained in his home town of Poznan in Poland on the 20th of May 1971 and on started his priestly ministry in the Diocese of Calgary in March of 1974. Although I have known Father Stefan since 1984 it was only in the early 1990’s that I had a chance to get to know him better when he became Pastor of St. Bernadette Parish here in Calgary. I sensed from the time I got to know him better that he was a priest truly inspired by the vision and spirit of the Second Vatican Council. His paradigm of being “Church” was deeply inspired by the Church’s own vision of empowering the People of God to claim more profoundly their Baptismal grace and together with their Pastor join in an awareness of the great calling to Apostolate of Christ as both ordained and laity.

Fr. Stefan would enthusiastically embrace any and all opportunities that would enkindle within the faithful he was serving, a greater love of God and an authentic expression of their call to Christian ministry as laity. It is to no surprise that Bishop Paul recognized his passion for this and utilized his giftedness as not only a parish priest but also to serve on the Diocesan Theological Commission as Chaplain for Mount Royal College and Bishop Carrol High School, as well as the Bishop’s Representative for Ecumenical Affairs within the Diocese of Calgary. Following this, he was also appointed as Chaplain to the Reserves of The National Defence Unit, Calgary Highlanders. 

Father Stefan recalls with sincere gratitude, how Bishop Paul graciously gave him special permission one year, to allow the newly confirmed youth of St. Patrick’s Parish in Medicine Hat to be prepared and to assist with the distribution of Holy Communion at a school Mass. Fr. Stefan wanted to use this a special teaching moment to show that the newly confirmed are now fully initiated into the Church. It was not the norm and so he recalls this moment as a real tribute to Bishop Paul’s willingness to go the extra mile to be supportive.

It was when he was appointed to the Hospital Chaplain’s team in the year 2000, that I really got a true sense of Fr. Stefan's great charism and passion for building the Kingdom of God primarily by supporting and embracing the opportunity to work alongside our Pastoral Care lay ministers in the acute care hospitals of Calgary. As the person overseeing the Health Care Apostolate of the Diocese at that time, I recall emails and letters coming from doctors and nurses thanking the diocese for the outstanding pastoral care ministry that Fr. Stefan provided at the Peter Lougheed Hospital. His ability to validate each human person in their most frail and vulnerable hours was a true testimony of Fr. Stefan’s effective pastoral care skills as a priest. His ability to include family members and staff into the rituals and prayers was a precious gift to all involved. 

On this beautiful occasion of Father Stefan’s 50 years as a priest he can truly look back on a vocation that has enriched so many people and helped make the Kingdom of God more visible in this world. At the heart of his ministry was a servant attitude that allowed the Lord to do the Lord’s work through his ministry as a priest and together with the baptized faithful become an instrument of grace in the apostolate of pastoral care for the sick. In the words of St. Paul in Philippians 1:6 "he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Congratulations Fr. Stefan and may the Lord richly bless you with good health in mind and body as you continue to serve the Lord as a faithful priest, in the vineyard of the Lord! 

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Fr. Stefan Ganowicz

Ordained: May 20, 1971 in Poznan, Poland. Arrival in Canada: 1972.

Pastoral assignments

• Associate Pastor: St. Patrick’s, Medicine Hat (1974-1976)
• Associate Pastor: St. Anthony’s, Drumheller (1976-1978)
• On Staff: Corpus Christi, Calgary June 23 (1979-1981)
• Member of Diocesan Theological Commission: (1980-1984)
• Pastor: St. Agnes, Carstairs and St. Francis Xavier, Crossfield (1981-1984)
• Associate Pastor: St. Mark’s, Calgary (1984-1985)
• Chaplain: Mount Royal College and Bishop Carroll High School (1985-1987)
• Bishop Representative to Ecumenical Affairs (1985-1987)
• Pastor: Sacred Heart, Strathmore (1987-1990) and St. Anne, Hussar (1988-1990)
• Chaplain to the Reserves of The National Defense, Unit of the Calgary Highlanders, Calgary (1990-2009)
• Administrator: St. Bernadette’s, Calgary (1990-1996)
• Administrator: St. Anne’s, Calgary & Chaplain Bishop McNally High School (1996-1999)
• Administrator: St. Anne’s and Chaplain at Peter Lougheed Hospital (2000-2001)
• Chaplain: Peter Lougheed Hospital (2000-2003)
• Chaplain: Peter Lougheed Hospital, Calgary (2003 to 2017)

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Written by Deacon Michael Soentgerath for Faithfully, October 2021.