FATHER LOU
March 2012 Priest of the Month - REV. LOU KLEIN
Father Lou Klein asserts that everyone has a vocation. It's up to each person to discover the vocation God has in mind for them. Not all vocations are to the priesthood or religious life. Some are to married or single life as well. In his thirty years of priesthood, he feels certain that God called him to the vocation of priesthood and he is a very happy man because of it. Father Lou admits, "I go to bed happy and I wake up happy." That's not to say he doesn't have sad, hurtful or unhappy experiences during his days, just that when he puts it all in perspective, he is very happy doing what he does.
St. John Kanty Parish was the setting for the early years of young Louis Klein's life. He attended the parish school for grades K–8 and attended high school at Seneca Vocational in the City of Buffalo. While there he studied electronics. When he was eleven years old, his father went off to work one day and never came home. He died of a heart attack at the age of 49 at Ryerson Steel Plant. At the time his sister, Helen, was thirteen and his mother was 41. His mother did a wonderful job continuing on as a single parent. She taught her children through her words and her actions to trust in God and to thank Him always for everything they had. She took them to May and October devotions and kept them active in the life of their parish.
On May 30, 1981 Father Louis Klein was ordained a priest in his home parish of St. John Kanty. At that time Father Peter Karalus was an altar server for the Mass and Msgr. David LiPuma sang in the choir with his fellow seminarians. His first assignment was to St. James in Jamestown for seven years. He spent the next three and a half years at St. Joseph's in Niagara Falls (now called, Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph). He was the moderator of that school and commented that, "The Home School people did a phenomenal job of getting together to do things that enhanced the value of Catholic Education by getting the extra things they needed." He then went to Annunciation on the West Side of Buffalo and then to Our Lady of Victory in Lackawanna. When he was there about seven months, he asked then Bishop Head for a leave of absence to take care of his mother who had become ill. Within the six month period he was granted, she was diagnosed with cancer and passed away. While he cared for her at home with his sister, he helped Father Duke Zajac with the duties of hospital chaplain at Sisters' Hospital. He always had a tremendous love for the sick and suffering. On September 1, 1995, Bishop Mansell appointed him as full-time chaplain at Sisters' Hospital. Since 1999, he has served predominately at St. Joseph's Hospital. He still helps Father Duke out on his day off at Sister's Hospital as well.
In 2004, Father Lou was made temporary administrator of Queen of Martyr's Parish to help Father Dan Lapinski, who was waiting for a bone marrow transplant. Father Dan passed away, and in 2006 Father Lou was named pastor of the parish. His campus hosts a regional school, Mary Queen of Angels which serves the surrounding area. Msgr. Kevin O'Neill is the canonical administrator of the school and Mrs. Mary Alice Bagwell is the principal.
When he was in Jamestown on assignment, Father Lou decided to take up Karate. He earned a black belt and says, "Those First Communion kids get tougher every year. A man's got to defend himself!" His sense of humor no doubt comes in handy when dealing with the stresses that can accompany priestly ministry. He also enjoys following sports which can unfortunately lead to more stress on occasion in the Buffalo area. He is a die-hard Buffalo Bills fan who has been fortunate enough to attend three of the four Super Bowls in which the Bills played. He hopes to attend another Buffalo Bills Super Bowl someday. He and his sister share in the responsibility of owning a dog. Oscar is a Maltese who loves to go for walks. Father Lou gets his exercise as well while accompanying Oscar. Father Lou admits, "I can't do everything I'd like to do because there are just so many hours in a day, but I'm happy!"
"Ministering to people and letting them know how much God loves them" is one of the many things Father Lou enjoys about the priesthood. He also finds a real sense of fulfillment in "relieving people of any unhealthy guilt and letting them know that God forgives totally all their sins when they are sorry" in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Ministering in a hospital setting, Father Lou spends a lot of time anointing the sick. He finds this to be a comfort to those who are sick as well as to their families. He also ranks high on his list of priestly privileges, celebrating the Eucharist, baptizing, and presiding over weddings and funerals. Each area of his ministry brings him closer to the people he serves and that brings him joy. One of the things he finds most challenging about priesthood is making the proper choices of how to spend his time. There are so many things to attend to, he finds he has to prioritize in order to fit them all in. Even then, he finds he can't do it all and sometimes has to let some things go in order to avoid too much stress in his life.
Father Lou believes that if someone is interested in the priesthood he should spend time in prayer discerning whether God is calling him to that vocation. He feels that it is good to have someone trustworthy to whom he can share thoughts and ideas. "Some people enter the seminary to please someone else and not for the people they will minister to," notes Father Lou. "Sometimes they begin studies for the priesthood and decide along the way that it is not for them. Lots of people enter and leave and then go on to be great contributing members of society, just not as priests." Most importantly, Father Lou advises that whatever vocation a man feels called to, he should be genuine and truthful to what he is experiencing.
Rev. Louis Klein Am-Pol Eagle Citizen of the Year- Religion
Reverend Louis Klein is the pastor of Queen of Martyrs Parish, while also a chaplain for Sisters' Hospital and the St. Joseph Campus of Sisters' Hospital. He was named 2014 Citizen of the Year in Religion.
Rev. Lou is 100% Polish, having been raised in a Polish community within Buffalo, he attended St. John Kanty Parish as a child. At only 11, his father died leaving his mother to raise him and his sister to trust in God.
As a young man, Rev. Lou had not planned on going into the priesthood, but attended the University of Buffalo, earning a bachelor’s of science degree in accounting. He worked for three years as an accountant and auditor for the City of Buffalo.
During that time he stayed active with his parish, taking on a variety of responsibilities, including coaching the girls’ softball and basketball teams and co-ed volleyball.
It wasn't until speaking with a priest during confession did he start to consider it seriously. After much prayer and soul searching, Rev. Lou knew this was the path he needed to follow. He began his formal studies in May 1975 and was ordained in his home parish of St. John Kanty in May 1981.
Since being ordained, Klein has served at several parishes and in September 1995, Bishop Henry Mansell appointed him full-time chaplain for Sisters’ Hospital. Klein said that since about 1999 he has primarily served at the St. Joseph Campus of Sisters’ Hospital.
According to Klein, he has seen hundreds of people at the hospitals over the years and knows that often the presence of a chaplain gives a person piece of mind and comfort, not only the patients, but often for family members and friends too.
As well as serving as a chaplain, Klein has been the pastor of Queen of Martyrs Parish since 2006, which also hosts a regional school, Mary Queen of Angels.
“I am a blue collar priest with a white collar. I appreciate that people are having financial and emotional struggles and I hope that I can be of some help. We are all a family here and as such we should work together."
Father Lou Klein asserts that everyone has a vocation. It's up to each person to discover the vocation God has in mind for them. Not all vocations are to the priesthood or religious life. Some are to married or single life as well. In his thirty years of priesthood, he feels certain that God called him to the vocation of priesthood and he is a very happy man because of it. Father Lou admits, "I go to bed happy and I wake up happy." That's not to say he doesn't have sad, hurtful or unhappy experiences during his days, just that when he puts it all in perspective, he is very happy doing what he does.
St. John Kanty Parish was the setting for the early years of young Louis Klein's life. He attended the parish school for grades K–8 and attended high school at Seneca Vocational in the City of Buffalo. While there he studied electronics. When he was eleven years old, his father went off to work one day and never came home. He died of a heart attack at the age of 49 at Ryerson Steel Plant. At the time his sister, Helen, was thirteen and his mother was 41. His mother did a wonderful job continuing on as a single parent. She taught her children through her words and her actions to trust in God and to thank Him always for everything they had. She took them to May and October devotions and kept them active in the life of their parish.
On May 30, 1981 Father Louis Klein was ordained a priest in his home parish of St. John Kanty. At that time Father Peter Karalus was an altar server for the Mass and Msgr. David LiPuma sang in the choir with his fellow seminarians. His first assignment was to St. James in Jamestown for seven years. He spent the next three and a half years at St. Joseph's in Niagara Falls (now called, Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph). He was the moderator of that school and commented that, "The Home School people did a phenomenal job of getting together to do things that enhanced the value of Catholic Education by getting the extra things they needed." He then went to Annunciation on the West Side of Buffalo and then to Our Lady of Victory in Lackawanna. When he was there about seven months, he asked then Bishop Head for a leave of absence to take care of his mother who had become ill. Within the six month period he was granted, she was diagnosed with cancer and passed away. While he cared for her at home with his sister, he helped Father Duke Zajac with the duties of hospital chaplain at Sisters' Hospital. He always had a tremendous love for the sick and suffering. On September 1, 1995, Bishop Mansell appointed him as full-time chaplain at Sisters' Hospital. Since 1999, he has served predominately at St. Joseph's Hospital. He still helps Father Duke out on his day off at Sister's Hospital as well.
In 2004, Father Lou was made temporary administrator of Queen of Martyr's Parish to help Father Dan Lapinski, who was waiting for a bone marrow transplant. Father Dan passed away, and in 2006 Father Lou was named pastor of the parish. His campus hosts a regional school, Mary Queen of Angels which serves the surrounding area. Msgr. Kevin O'Neill is the canonical administrator of the school and Mrs. Mary Alice Bagwell is the principal.
When he was in Jamestown on assignment, Father Lou decided to take up Karate. He earned a black belt and says, "Those First Communion kids get tougher every year. A man's got to defend himself!" His sense of humor no doubt comes in handy when dealing with the stresses that can accompany priestly ministry. He also enjoys following sports which can unfortunately lead to more stress on occasion in the Buffalo area. He is a die-hard Buffalo Bills fan who has been fortunate enough to attend three of the four Super Bowls in which the Bills played. He hopes to attend another Buffalo Bills Super Bowl someday. He and his sister share in the responsibility of owning a dog. Oscar is a Maltese who loves to go for walks. Father Lou gets his exercise as well while accompanying Oscar. Father Lou admits, "I can't do everything I'd like to do because there are just so many hours in a day, but I'm happy!"
"Ministering to people and letting them know how much God loves them" is one of the many things Father Lou enjoys about the priesthood. He also finds a real sense of fulfillment in "relieving people of any unhealthy guilt and letting them know that God forgives totally all their sins when they are sorry" in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Ministering in a hospital setting, Father Lou spends a lot of time anointing the sick. He finds this to be a comfort to those who are sick as well as to their families. He also ranks high on his list of priestly privileges, celebrating the Eucharist, baptizing, and presiding over weddings and funerals. Each area of his ministry brings him closer to the people he serves and that brings him joy. One of the things he finds most challenging about priesthood is making the proper choices of how to spend his time. There are so many things to attend to, he finds he has to prioritize in order to fit them all in. Even then, he finds he can't do it all and sometimes has to let some things go in order to avoid too much stress in his life.
Father Lou believes that if someone is interested in the priesthood he should spend time in prayer discerning whether God is calling him to that vocation. He feels that it is good to have someone trustworthy to whom he can share thoughts and ideas. "Some people enter the seminary to please someone else and not for the people they will minister to," notes Father Lou. "Sometimes they begin studies for the priesthood and decide along the way that it is not for them. Lots of people enter and leave and then go on to be great contributing members of society, just not as priests." Most importantly, Father Lou advises that whatever vocation a man feels called to, he should be genuine and truthful to what he is experiencing.
Rev. Louis Klein Am-Pol Eagle Citizen of the Year- Religion
Reverend Louis Klein is the pastor of Queen of Martyrs Parish, while also a chaplain for Sisters' Hospital and the St. Joseph Campus of Sisters' Hospital. He was named 2014 Citizen of the Year in Religion.
Rev. Lou is 100% Polish, having been raised in a Polish community within Buffalo, he attended St. John Kanty Parish as a child. At only 11, his father died leaving his mother to raise him and his sister to trust in God.
As a young man, Rev. Lou had not planned on going into the priesthood, but attended the University of Buffalo, earning a bachelor’s of science degree in accounting. He worked for three years as an accountant and auditor for the City of Buffalo.
During that time he stayed active with his parish, taking on a variety of responsibilities, including coaching the girls’ softball and basketball teams and co-ed volleyball.
It wasn't until speaking with a priest during confession did he start to consider it seriously. After much prayer and soul searching, Rev. Lou knew this was the path he needed to follow. He began his formal studies in May 1975 and was ordained in his home parish of St. John Kanty in May 1981.
Since being ordained, Klein has served at several parishes and in September 1995, Bishop Henry Mansell appointed him full-time chaplain for Sisters’ Hospital. Klein said that since about 1999 he has primarily served at the St. Joseph Campus of Sisters’ Hospital.
According to Klein, he has seen hundreds of people at the hospitals over the years and knows that often the presence of a chaplain gives a person piece of mind and comfort, not only the patients, but often for family members and friends too.
As well as serving as a chaplain, Klein has been the pastor of Queen of Martyrs Parish since 2006, which also hosts a regional school, Mary Queen of Angels.
“I am a blue collar priest with a white collar. I appreciate that people are having financial and emotional struggles and I hope that I can be of some help. We are all a family here and as such we should work together."
The Pastors of Queen of Martyrs - Past & Present
John A. Szal
1946-1955
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Stanley A. Kulpinski
1955-1979
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Maximillian Kozminski
1979-1999
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Daniel Lapinski
1999-2004
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Louis Klein
2005-Present
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