Friar Stanley Sobiech, OFM Conv., 91, a Franciscan Friar of Our Lady of the Angels Province, died peacefully on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Enfield, Conn.
Born in Kuczbork, Warsaw, Poland on July 20, 1933, he was the elder son of Tadeusz and Stefania (nee Szczepaniak) Sobiech. He had one younger brother and four sisters. Growing up in occupied Poland, Stanley worked the family farm, though considered himself to be more of a shepherd—herding cows, pigs, sheep, and lambs. This shepherd’s heart would eventually be directed to the service of the Church. Having dreamed of becoming a priest since he was a young child, Stanley entered the Novitiate of the Conventual Franciscans in Niepokalanow, Poland in 1955.
Friar Stanley made his first profession of vows on September 16, 1956, and then complete
For the first few years of his priesthood, Friar Stanley taught religion in Poland. In 1965, he was sent to the United States to engage in ministry with the new Polish immigrants. From 1965 to 1982, he served as parochial vicar of Our Lady of Czestochowa Church in South Boston. Initially “on loan” from the Conventual Franciscan Province in Warsaw, Friar Stanley transfiliated to then St. Anthony of Padua Province in 1978.
Friar Stanley spent his life as a priest in parochial ministry: at Corpus Christi, Buffalo, N.Y. (1982-85), St. Stanislaus Basilica, Chicopee, Mass. (1985-94), Mater Dolorosa, Holyoke Mass. (1994-97 and 2006-19); Holy Trinity, St. Lawrence Mass. (1997-2004), and Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Bedford Mass (2004-06). In 2019, his health in decline, Friar Stanley moved to St. Hyacinth Friary in Chicopee, eventually transitioning to Our Lady of the Angels Care Center in Enfield.
Visitation hours will be held Monday, Dec. 16, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., at Our Lady of the Angels Care Center (1315 Enfield St., Enfield), with a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow at a later date in the family plot in Poland. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Franciscan Education Fund (12300 Folly Quarter Road, Ellicott City MD 21042).
