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A warm welcome
Strawberry Festival will be a first for St. Anthony priest
The Rev. Fr. John Kiselicamay have
spent three decades as a Catholic
priest but he is sure to have a new
experience this weekend during the
Belleville National Strawberry
Festival.
Organizers said they are sure
Kiselica, who arrived at Saint Anthony
Catholic Church in Belleville last
September, has never seen anything
quite like the huge crowds of people
who throng to the area to celebrate the
strawberry harvest.
“We are looking forward to showing
Fr. John the spirit of activism and com-
munity that is on display during this
event every year,” said one committee
volunteer. “We think he will be
impressed.”
Kiselica replaced Fr. Thomas
Cusick who retired at the end of
August last year after 28 years at the
helmof St. Anthony's.
Kiselica previously served as a
school chaplain at a number of
Catholic high schools in the
Archdiocese including Divine Child,
Orchard Lake, St. Mary's, Warren
DeLaSalle and Notre Dame High
School inHarperWoods.
He was also stationed at Selfridge
Air National Guard Base as a Catholic
Chaplain in the U.S. Air Force
Reserves.
He is turning to full-time parish
ministry at St. Anthony's and said that
his experiences helping in local
parishes as weekend mass assistant
will benefit his assignment in
Belleville.
He said that he left the educational
apostolate well aware that teaching
was “a younger man's game” and
aware, too, of the changes in classroom
education since he was first ordained
in 1984.
That past experience in the class-
room and educational discipline has
impressed several members of the St.
Anthony's community.
Parishioner Carol Ann Pesta said
she feels that “Father John” has
Rev. Fr. John Kiselica
