BY KATHI STEARNS

Those present fought back tears of joy and happiness as Joseph John Chaloux, Timothy Allen Gadziala and Adam Zbigniew Ozimek were ordained to the priesthood June 4 by Archbishop John F. Donoghue in the Cathedral of Christ the King.

“It is a normal thing … to note with interest the career choices of those whom we care about,” the archbishop said,” but it is a special feeling that comes from within when we discover that a friend, or a brother, or a son or nephew, has heard the call and intends to become a priest.”

The families of the three ordained priests echoed the words of the archbishop. “This is the day I’ve dreamed and prayed about for years. It is a Catholic mother’s dream come true,” Dorothy Chaloux said of her son Joe’s ordination day.

Father Chaloux, 39, is the only child of Dorothy and the late Joseph James Chaloux. A native of Florence, S.C., he completed pastoral internships at St. Thomas More Parish in Decatur and St. Joseph’s Parish in Athens. In 1992 he was in residence at Transfiguration Parish, Marietta, while completing clinical pastoral education at Grady Hospital. He was ordained to the diaconate April 24, 1993, at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore.

Father Chaloux celebrated his first Mass at Transfiguration June 5. He has been appointed to St. Joseph’s in Athens, for his first assignment as parochial vicar.

Rose Gunder, a St. Joseph’s parishioner, fought back tears as she described the care Father Chaloux has given her since her husband’s death last year. “I can’t begin to tell you what he has meant to me. I don’t think I would have made it without him. He’s been so kind and compassionate. Every time he sees me he makes a point of giving me a big hug and reminds me that I am not alone.” Mrs. Gunder sat in the front row with the family.

For Father Gadziala’s family this was a day to watch their dreams become a reality. “You love all your children … But Tim has always been a beacon of happiness, and I know he will radiate that love to the people he serves,” Matt Gadziala said of his newly ordained son.

Tim’s brother, Matt, a staff sergeant in the Air Force stationed in Korea, came home for his brother’s ordination. “This is a day of celebration. I feel very fortunate to be able to witness the final step in my brother’s calling. He will make a beautiful, compassionate and loving priest,” he said.

Father Gadziala, 26, is a native Georgia, the second child of Matt and the late Joan Gadziala of Lilburn. His sister Connie and brother Chris also attended his ordination, as did aunts and uncles from New York State.

His grandmother, Marian, from Liberty, N.Y., read from Jeremiah at the Mass and called the ordination a first for her family and a blessing. Asked about the source of Tim’s priestly vocation, she gave all the credit to God. “I think he was called by God, I firmly believe that,” said the 75-year-old retired college librarian. The family, she said, is an ordinary, church-going family, but not unusually religious. “The vocation,” a family first, “was a calling from God,” she said.

As a seminarian Father Gadziala completed pastoral internships at St. Thomas More in the summer of 1990 and at St. Joseph’s Parish, Dalton, during the summer of 1991. In 1992 he spent the summer in Jerusalem studying Scripture for 10 weeks. He was ordained a deacon May 8, 1993 at Mount Saint Mary’s, Maryland, and served in Holy Spirit Parish, Atlanta, last summer.

Father Gadziala celebrated his first Mass at St. John Neumann Church June 5. He has been appointed to St. John the Evangelist, Hapeville, for his first assignment as a parochial vicar.

Father Ozimek’s second cousins, Mary Link and Bernice Rakecky, and aunts Irene Alderman and Francis Iglikowski traveled from Michigan for his ordination.

“We are all excited to be here. It is an honor for our entire family … He is very personable and can converse well with anyone on any level. He has a good sense of humor and he relates well to young people,” Ms. Link said.

Besides his relatives from Michigan the pews reserved for Father Ozimek were overflowing with parishioners from Transfiguration where he was ordained to the diaconate Dec. 4, 1993. In May of this year he earned his master of divinity degree from St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach, Fla. He speaks English and Polish fluently and can read Spanish.

Father Ozimek celebrated his first Mass at Transfiguration Church June 5. On June 7 he left for Poland to celebrate his first Mass outside of the United States in Stary Dzikow, Poland, with his mother and sister, who were unable to attend his ordination.

He has been appointed Holy Spirit, Atlanta, fir his first assignment as a parochial vicar.

Transfiguration parish leaders Mike Wiedower and Rod Voss spoke of many ties that had deepened the love between the parish and Father Ozimek. Last summer he was among adults accompanying 22 youth to Denver to meet the pope, a marathon experience that bonded participants, and he also got up at 2 a.m. to teach at a parish lock-in.

“Adam was definitely part of the family,” said Voss. Parishioners surrounded him when his brother was killed in Poland and raised funds so he could return home. The Men’s Club also sponsored his post-ordination trip home to see his family.

A little bit of Poland was also present at the ordination. A childhood friend from his village, Danuta Jablonska wept with joy at the ordination. A Ph.D. candidate in Maryland, she was accompanied by Stan and Valerie Wisniewski of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, Alpharetta, who “adopted” Ozimek as a seminarian, providing friendship, telephone and prayer support throughout his years of preparation.

It may have been unprecedented for a parish, Transfiguration, to hose the first Masses for two newly ordained priests on the same day, June. 5. The parish had long been praying for both Father Ozimek and Father Chaloux, said Voss, after each had spent time serving the parish while in formation.

At every parish Mass during the prayers of the faithful, Father Pat Bishop, the pastor, would add prayers “for our seminarians, Adam and Joe,” Voss said.