On February 4, 2026, Fr. Mateusz Pietrzyk, MIC, died at the religious house in Skórzec. He was 73 years old, had been in the Congregation for 48 years, and had been a priest for 41 years. The funeral will take place on Friday, February 6, 2026, at the Church of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle in Skórzec.
Father Mateusz Stanisław Pietrzyk, son of Józef and Maria née Ptak, was born on April 15, 1952, in Damienice near Bochnia, in the Diocese of Tarnów. After completing primary school in Damienice, he graduated from the Basic Vocational School in Krakow-Prokocim in 1966-69, obtaining the profession of locksmith.
In 1970, as a candidate for our Congregation, he moved to Lublin, residing at 10 Połaniecka Street, and began working at the Lublin Cooperative for the Disabled and studying at the High School for Working Adults. After completing the first year of high school, he did his basic military service, and after completing it in 1973, he continued his education and work. He obtained his high school diploma in 1976 and was then accepted into the novitiate in Skórzec.
He made his first profession on August 15, 1977. In 1977-78, he studied at the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University of Lublin in Lublin, and in 1978-84 at the Higher Theological Seminary in Siedlce; during this period, he was a member of the religious house in Skórzec. He made his perpetual vows on August 15, 1982, in Licheń. He was ordained a deacon in Lublin on December 8, 1983, by Bishop Bolesław Pylak of Lublin. After completing his seminary studies in 1984-85, he was a catechist at the parish of Our Lady of Lourdes in Praga. He was ordained a priest in Lublin in the seminary chapel of the Congregation of Marian Fathers by Jan Śrutwa, Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Lublin, on June 15, 1985.
Transferred to Góra Kalwaria, he was a pastoral assistant and catechist there from 1985 to 1987. From 1987 to 1991, he worked in Głuchołazy as a vicar and catechist. Transferred to the residence in Rzepiska, from 1991 to 1997 he was the rector of the local church and residence. He organized and supervised a thorough renovation of the church, house, and utility rooms. From October 1993 to August 1994, while residing in Rzepiska, he was the acting superior of the religious house in Zakopane. In 1997, he was transferred to Skórzec. Almost throughout the entire period from 1999 to 2017, he served as bursar. He was also first or second councilor of the house several times. His last years were marked by progressive illness. He died in the religious house on the afternoon of February 4, 2026.