Zdzisław (Ziggy) Kruczek CSMA
Michaelites’ Formation House, Rebiamul
P. O. Box 1610 Mount Hagen, Western Highlands Province 281
Ph. 542 01 69; mobile: 72 73 86 65; e-mail: zzkrcsma@gmail.com
Zdzisław Zygmunt Kruczek was born in Futoma, Poland on January 9th, 1945. He completed his primary education in 1959 and began his secondary studies at the Minor Seminary run by the Congregation of Saint Michael the Archangel (Michaelites) in Miejsce Piastowe. After finishing the novitiate in 1963 he matriculated in Rzeszów in 1966. In 1967 he pursued philosophical-theological studies at the Theological Institute in Przemyśl and after that he was ordained priest for the Michaelites in 1973. After two years of pastoral experience in the parish and one year of studies at the Catholic University of Lublin (Poland), he left his home country and arrived to Australia to upgrade his English. In February 1977 he moved to Papua New Guinea and joined the missionary team of the Mount Hagen Diocese. After half a year of introduction in Mabulga he took over Kuruk Parish where he worked until the beginning of 1986. Then his superiors transferred him to the Enga Province (Diocese of Wabag) where he functioned as the missionary parish priest at Wanepap (Laiagam). In 1993 he returned to Mount Hagen and started the foundation of the Michaelites Community at Rebiamul where he filled the role of Community superior until the end of 2004. In 2008, after completing his rector’s task at Good Shepherd Seminary, he undertook the duty of being facilitator of Michaelites’ formation programme in Papua New Guinea. At present (2010) he lives at Rebiamul, Mount Hagen.
Before he left Poland in 1976, he received an MA in Theology from the Catholic University of Lublin. From 1982 he did correspondence studies for two years in Classics and in Ancient History at the University of Armidale (Australia) and in 1994-1996 he undertook post-graduate Studies in Religion in Brisbane at Queensland University. In 1989-1991 he engaged in studies at the Theological Academy of Warsaw where he gained his Licentiate in Missiology and then in 1991 he obtained a Doctorate in Theology at the same Institution. In 1992/1993 there he also completed the Doctoral Course in the Faculty of Church History and Social Church Teaching. At the beginning of 1994 he began to lecture at Good Shepherd Seminary in Fatima, Mount Hagen Archdiocese where he was engaged until 2008, and where since 2005 he has been a Rector for three years. Previously he had also lectured as a principal lecturer for three years at the Divine Word University in Madang (1997-1999). In 2006 Fr. Kruczek obtained a Qualified Doctorate (Habilitation) in Theology (History of the Church) at the Catholic University of Lublin. Since the year 2008 he is giving block courses at the Major Diocesan Seminary of Charles Borromeo at Lote, Vanimo Diocese, and at Catholic theological Institute at Bomana, Port Moresby in Church History and Christianity in Melanesia.
Since 1995 Fr. Kruczek has been the editor of the newly originated Academic Annual Magazine of the Michaelites (MI-CHA-EL CSMA) in Papua New Guinea and Australia. Until now he published eight books and is the author of ca. 160 of articles, review articles, educational materials, editorials, reports, translations, interviews, contributions, reviews, academic talks, testimonies, letters and of a few unpublished works in English, Tok Pisin and Polish. He presented his talks in Papua New Guinea and in Poland. Being engaged in scholarly research, he is a member of three Academic Societies: Religious History Society (Australia); The International Association of Catholic Missiologists (Rome); The National Geographic Society (USA).
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