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Priest reflects on path to vocation
By LINDA M. LINONIS
youngstown
When a young John A. Zuraw was in second grade, the teacher asked students to draw what they wanted to be. He drew a priest.
“I remember doing that but not knowing the full aspect of what a priest was and did,” the now Monsignor Zuraw said in his office in the chancery of the Diocese of Youngstown, 144 W. Wood St. He serves as chancellor of the diocese and pastor of St. Rose Church, 48 E. Main St., Girard.
A native of Campbell, he attended St. Joseph the Provider School. “It was there I started to think about it,” he said of his calling. While a student at Ursuline High School, the idea resurfaced. Then he went to Youngstown State University and took philosophy classes with instructor Dr. Joseph Lucas.
“I didn’t know he was a priest in the Youngstown diocese. He articulated philosophy ideas so well to students,” he said.
Monsignor Zuraw later learned that Father Lucas had been pastor at St. Rose.
Monsignor Zuraw said “key people” who showed him good examples included the Rev. Dan Venglarik and the Rev. John Schwartz, who both taught at Ursuline. “They were good examples of what it meant to be a diocesan priest.”
“I decided to give the seminary a try,” Monsignor Zuraw said. “I was open to that possibility.” The then-19-year-old spoke with the Rev. Brad Helman, director of vocations at the time. “My parents were supportive and said there was no pressure,” he recalled. “They said there was no stigma” if I changed my mind.
Monsignor Zuraw stayed the course of nine years in seminary. He was ordained June 20, 1987, by Bishop James Malone. A priest for 29 years, Monsignor Zuraw said the choice was right for him. He credited other priests with help in his career in the Diocese of Youngstown.
His first assignment was assistant pastor from 1987-93 at St. Louis Church in Louisville, where the Rev. Fred Slaven was pastor. “He was a good mentor. He was a kind man who knew what it meant to be a pastor, and he educated me,” Monsignor Zuraw said. “He gave me ministerial experience, and work in administration and parish council. It was truly a blessing,” he said of the six-year assignment.
Then he went to St. Rose as assistant to the Rev. Martin Susko, serving from July 1993 to November 1996. “He showed me how to be an independent thinker,” Monsignor Zuraw said. At this time, he also studied canon law for five summers at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and graduated in 1999. “That degree serves me well now,” he said of his work as chancellor.
In 1996, he became director of clergy and religious services and vocation director and also oversaw the permanent deaconate. He also was administrator at the now-closed Immaculate Conception Church on Oak Street.
“It was truly a blessing there ... the congregation was loving and supportive. There was a good staff ... [the late] Butchy Pecchia was a phenomenal secretary and was like a second mother to me,” he said. He said the diverse congregation of rich to poor, different ethnic and racial backgrounds was an “enriching experience.”
Bishop George V. Murry named him vicar for administrative reconstruction, and from 2008-10, he developed a reconfiguration plan in the diocese. The late Rev. Nicholas Shori then led the parish implementation plan.
He became full-time pastor to St. Rose in July 2010 and was named chancellor in 2014. “The best part of being at a parish is the celebrations of baptisms, weddings and anniversaries,” he said. “But, as a priest, you are there in times of sadness. You are part of the good and bad times. That’s the beauty of a parish assignment.”
Monsignor Zuraw described himself as “an organized person,” and that’s how he handles two diverse jobs. “I love the administrative side and getting things done,” he said of diocesan duties. “But I like the pastoral part of the day-to-day experience with people, I like being part of God’s community at work. I have the best of both worlds.”
He admitted a challenge of getting young people to church as participants. “When I was young, it was part of what we did as a family on Sunday,” he said of attending Mass. “It was part of who I was as a person, and because of that experience, I know I can turn to God ... I have a relationship with him.”
Monsignor Zuraw said he has a 5:30 p.m. Mass Sundays to engage families and make it easier for them to attend. “They can end the day as a family unit,” he said. “I wonder if children don’t have this ... who will they turn to in trials and tribulations?”
During baptism preparation he tries to instill in new parents the importance of faith and making it part of their children’s lives. Monsignor Zuraw takes pride in the operation of St. Rose School with 326 students. “Parents see the value of a Catholic education and the faith and values component,” he said. At 8:30 a.m. Mass Wednesdays with students, he engages them with questions on the homily.
Monsignor Zuraw said he also appreciates the faith community in Girard that sponsors a joint vacation Bible school, community Thanksgiving service and week of Christian unity. “Knowing one another and working together produces good things,” he said, adding the group community supports Emmanuel Community Care Center in various ways.
As chancellor of the diocese, Monsignor Zuraw is the chief archivist, record keeper and authenticator of documents. “I didn’t hesitate when asked to take this on,” he said. “I have a great staff at St. Rose and depend on them.
“Every day is a new adventure. I feel like I’m making a difference,” he said. “I love what I do.”