Father Joseph Peplansky, C.M.F. (1933 - 2011)

Rev. Joseph J. Peplansky, C.M.F. passed away on March 13, 2011 after a prolonged illness. Father Joseph J. Peplansky, C.M.F., born in Chicago on February 8, 1933, made his first profession as a Claretian in 1952 and was ordained on June 11, 1960.

During the 1960s, he ministered at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Chicago, and then served as a campus chaplain to Catholic students at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge from 1969 to 1976.

In succeeding years, he served at Holy Cross Church in Chicago, 1976-1984; St. Mary of Sorrows in Fairfax, Virginia, 1984-1990; St. Paul’s Church in Chicago, 1990-1996, and Sacred Heart Church in Springfield, Missouri, 1996-2005, before a brief assignment as administrator of Our Lady of Guadalupe that ended in 2006.

During his stay as pastor of Sacred Heart Church, he welcomed members of the area’s growing Hispanic community, celebrating a Mass in Spanish every Sunday instead of offering it only once a month. “That was kind of a springboard for the development of the community,” he says.

The parish began providing a full-service Hispanic ministry program that included baptisms and counseling, in addition to weekly fiestas after Sunday Mass, Our Lady of Guadalupe celebrations, posadas, and classes for children in the parish school of religion. Sacred Heart became known as a welcoming parish for Hispanics, most of whom immigrated from Mexico.

“We were truly there to help them,” Peplansky recalls. “We couldn’t always solve their problems, but at least they knew they could approach us. We wanted them to feel at home in our parish, that we understood their culture.”

While he was pastor, fund-raising began for the construction of a new $1.2 million welcoming and parish center. The facility, designed to take care of the many social needs of newly arrived immigrants, was completed in 2006.

Peplansky says a source of inspiration to him as a Claretian priest has been “older people who have gone through ‘the wars’ and still hang in there, especially parishioners who are suffering and yet maintain great faith.

“I have made lifelong friendships through my different ministries, and personally it has been so satisfying to me to be of service to people who seek spiritual guidance and hope during their journey through life.”