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Wheeling Pastor Dies From COVID-19 Complications


Father Jerzy “George” Gawlik of St. Joseph the Worker Church in Wheeling.

A longtime pastor at St. Joseph the Worker Church in Wheeling died last Friday (May 29) due to complications of COVID-19. 

Father Jerzy “George” Gawlik, 66, served more than 2,000 parishioners at St. Joseph during his 16 years there, according to his obituary from N.H. Scott & Hanekamp Funeral Home in Glenview. 

“He was a kind and good friend and a good priest who was dedicated to his job,” said Father Casimir Garbacz of the Society of the Divine Word, who has known Father Gawlik for more than 20 years and will deliver the homily at his funeral Mass. “He loved his parishioners, and they loved him in return.” 

Gawlik was born in Brzozowice-Katowice, Poland, where he lived with his parents and brother. He entered the Divine Word missionary congregation of Chludowo, Poland, in 1974 and professed his vows two years later. 

After he was ordained in 1981, Gawlik was sent to Ireland to study English, according to the Society of the Divine Word. A year later, he went on to serve as a missionary in Abra, a region eight hours north of Manila in the Philippines. 

In 1989, Gawlik returned to Poland as a student of the Catholic University of Lublin, where he obtained his licentiate in spirituality. 

When he completed his degree, the society sent Gawlik to the Institute of Religious Formation in St. Louis to prepare to serve as the formator and prefect at the Divine Word Mission Seminary in Nysa, Poland. He also served as a formator — someone who trains novices —  in the Divine Word Mission Seminary in Pieniezno and rector and novice director of the Mission House in Chludowo. 

Apart from his work locally in Wheeling, Gawlik also helped children make their first communion and receive the Sacrament of Penance, also known as confession, through the Divine Word Chicago Province Annuity Program. In the Polish tradition, students go to confession before making their communion. 

“He was very kind and always smiling,” said parish Polish school teacher Aneta Switala. “Everyone loved him. All of the children wanted to go to confession with Father Gawlik. They cried when asked to go to someone else.” 

Gawlik was preceded in death by his parents, Jozef and Maria. He is survived by his brother Antoni, sister-in-law Malgorzata Gawlik and their four children. He passed away at Glenbrook Hospital. 

Though a large Mass for Gawlik could not be held due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a live stream of the funeral Mass was presented on YouTube. He was buried at St. Mary Cemetery in Techny, where the Society of the Divine Word Chicago Province is also located.

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