Fr. Theodore Wroblicky, Pastor Emeritus, fell asleep in the Lord on June 11, 2019. We leave the following in memory of his contribution to our Church and community. May his memory be eternal!
Fr. Theodore (Ted as he is called) was born in Harvey, Illinois (Southside Chicago). His father immigrated to the United States from Polish-controlled Western Ukraine. His mother was an American. Fr. Ted and his wife Barbara moved their four sons and themselves to Sacramento in 1977, where they settled and raised their children. He is a founder of St. Andrew the First-Called parish.
Fr. Ted was ordained a deacon at St. Ignatius (Roman Catholic) Parish at the hand of Bishop Innocent Lotocky, the Ukrainian Catholic Bishop of Chicago, after completing studies taught by the Sacramento Diocese with oversight from the Diaconate Director in Chicago. As a deacon Fr. Ted simultaneously served as the administrator of Immaculate Conception parish in San Francisco, St. Vladimir parish in Santa Clara, and St. Andrew the First-Called. He attended St. Alfonse Seminary in Lviv, and was ordained a priest in 1999 at the hand of Bishop Michael Koltun of Zboriv.
While serving as a priest in Ukraine, Fr. Ted and his wife Barbara were invited to a small private audience with Pope John Paul II while on a trip to Rome. Three priests were in attendance that day, and the Holy Father asked to meet with them individually after the audience. The priests introduced themselves to the Holy Father and, after a short conversation about their service in Ukraine and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, they entered into a discussion about how Fr. Ted (newly ordained for six months) could best serve the Church. The Holy Father firmly directed him to maintain and foster his Eastern Catholic traditions and the mission of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, because the flourishing of Eastern Christianity is very important to the mission of the Catholic Church as a whole. Fr. Ted continues to work tirelessly to bring people to Christ and deepen their relationship with Him through our Eastern Christian spirituality and traditions.
Fr. Ted returned to the United States in 1999 and was appointed the director of development and communications for the St. Nicholas Eparchy (diocese) in Chicago where he and his wife Barbara established the Eparchy’s stewardship and development office and authored a bilingual Parish Stewardship Handbook. Upon the sudden death of the eparchial finance officer, he was asked by then Bishop Michael Wiwchar to serve as the Eparchial Finance Director. He continued under the ordinariate of Bishop Richard S. Seminack until his return to Sacramento in 2006.
He currently serves Holy Wisdom Eastern Catholic Parish and he is a chaplain emeritus for the Knights of Columbus. He has taught in a number of lecture programs and parish missions. He frequently presents programs on Immaculate Heart Radio (1620 AM) and seeks out opportunities to speak about his passion, Christ and His Eastern Christian people and Churches. Fr. Ted is married to Barbara, his wife of over 50 years. They have been blessed with four sons, five grandsons, and three granddaughters. Come visit him at Holy Wisdom and participate with us and experience our Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom and meet our people. Any Catholic can participate in any Catholic parish and fulfill his Sunday or Holy Day duty. Father Ted loves to meet with and talk to people. And if you are fortunate, he will sing a song with you!
WELCOME!
Baptism Day:
Fr. Ted and his grandson Noah
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