Father Bill Hritsko came to Columbus as an entertainer who thought God might have other plans for him. His instinct was correct, for he ultimately realized he was being called to the priesthood. This year, the pastor of Buckeye Lake Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Heath St. Leonard churches is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his ordination.
Father Hritsko grew up in Akron and arrived in central Ohio after graduating in 1986 from the University of Akron with a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial and personnel management. “I finished my degree and moved to Columbus to join the professional folk ensemble Zivili,” which was based in Columbus, specialized in songs and dances of the southern Slavic nations and existed from 1973 to 2006.
“I was a dancer, musician, featured vocalist and assistant wardrobe director,” he said. “I also worked as a research and academic secretary for two doctors in adolescent medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. I learned more about pediatrics and gynecology than most priests will ever know.”
He also directed a choir from Columbus Holy Spirit Church, which, along with a group from Powell St. Joan of Arc Church, frequently sang at the Mass televised by WCMH-TV, Channel 4 in Columbus, for many years. “I am the only person to fulfill all the liturgical roles for the televised Mass, at which I was at various times a lector, cantor, acolyte, Eucharistic minister, deacon and priest.”
After about five years with Zivili and working at the hospital, “I just felt something was not right in my life, and I needed something more to bring me a sense of fulfillment,” he said.
He had first considered the priesthood while in college and applied to a religious order but said the order’s vocations director deterred him from priestly studies. “‘I’m not saying “no,” just “not now,”’ the vocations director said. ‘You have too much talent, and you have to search that out first.’ In hindsight, it was a good thing,” Father Hritsko said.
“What finally persuaded me to go all in on becoming a priest was a vocations talk I heard from a priest who asked his listeners to look at how they loved people best – whether one-on-one or in groups. He said that if it’s one-on-one, you should consider marriage, but if it’s as a group, you should either remain single or become a priest. I knew that, for me, I loved people best as a group, and I wanted more than just to be single, so that’s when I committed myself to pursuing the priesthood.”
Father Hritsko’s priestly formation occurred at the Pontifical College Josephinum, where he received his bachelor’s degree in philosophical studies in 1994 and his master’s in divinity in 1998. He was ordained by Bishop James Griffin at Columbus St. Joseph Cathedral on May 30, 1998.
His first assignment was as associate pastor of Newark St. Francis de Sales Church, where he served from 1998 to 2002. “I was blessed to be in Newark and close to (Granville) St. Edward Church, where I had done my diaconate year with Father Michael Gribble, who helped guide me in the realities of priesthood – good and difficult – through those first years.
“One of my first hard realities was working with a couple pregnant with a child with a genetic defect who would not live. The dad said, ‘We are planning her death and funeral when we should be planning her baptism and future,’” Father Hritsko said.
“Also at St. Francis, I had four deathbed baptisms and one experience of celebrating six of the sacraments in less than an hour. I also had my first two Catholic/Jewish weddings in Newark and am currently working on my fifth.”
He also took part in several productions of the Licking County Players, with permission from Bishop Griffin. These included productions of “Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?” “Hello, Dolly!” “Once Upon a Mattress” and “The Sound of Music,” in which he played the leading male role of Capt. Von Trapp.
“The show’s 13 performances sold out in almost record time because I think everyone wanted to see Father Bill kiss the girl who played Maria, the nun who became Capt. Von Trapp’s wife,” Father Hritsko said. “About a year later, I presided at ‘Maria’s’ wedding.
“One of the great things about the plays was the way I was able to evangelize through them. People always had questions for me as a priest about the Catholic faith, and I was happy to answer them.”
Father Hritsko was associate pastor at Westerville St. Paul Church from 2002 to 2006, then became pastor at Coshocton Sacred Heart Church from 2006 to 2013. In 2013, he also became priest moderator of Newcomerstown St. Francis de Sales Church while continuing in Coshocton. He was appointed to his current position at Buckeye Lake and Heath in 2014.
“This is my second time having two parishes,” he said. “Most importantly in my pastorate here, I have worked to bring the two parishes together as ‘sisters’ – not just ‘clustered.’ We have worked to have a fluidity of parishioners attending both churches.
“While each still has its own flavor, we have worked to combine what we can, ahead of what has been suggested by the Real Presence Real Future initiative,” particularly in the combined Parish School of Religion and adult Bible and faith study programs.
Father Hritsko is a second-generation immigrant of Slovakian heritage and is an active member of the Croatian Fraternal Union and the Tamburitza Association of America (TAA) – organizations that enable him to keep in touch with his ethnic background and his love of all cultures. The tamburitza refers to a family of instruments similar to the mandolin, balalaika or bouzouki.
He attends the TAA’s annual adult and children’s festival weekends, usually bringing with him “Mass in a box” – a kit that enables him to celebrate Masses with large crowds outside of church. Because of his work with the tamburitza and bringing it to new venues, he has been nominated for possible induction this year into the TAA Hall of Fame.
He tries to spend equal time at both parishes, accompanied by his dog, Rocco Gestas, a 3-year-old mix of corgi and basset hound. “Gestas was the unrepentant thief crucified with Jesus, and Rocco is a true thief,” Father Hritsko said. “He steals things like loaves of bread, packages of bagels, Chinese food, candy and especially plastic, and he’s unrepentant whenever he’s accused.”
Father Hritsko said that beyond celebrating Mass and the sacraments, he gets his greatest satisfaction as a priest from guiding people through preparations for funerals, weddings and other sacramental occasions. “Touching folks at their most vulnerable and being trusted with people’s most difficult times – trauma, loss, personal difficulties – is truly humbling.
“My biggest challenges are not letting these issues affect my heart and spirit and not letting negativity that sometimes comes from congregations, individuals and society make me bitter, hard or angry about ministry. I try to practice a sense of ‘holy detachment,’ as St. Ignatius suggests.
“My pastor while growing up, Father Jim Slaminka, my strongest model of priesthood, had that sense. I saw his compassion and service lived out – not just a show. He came back from two strokes to serve the parish and really strived to be nonbiased in action and decision," he said.
“My other strong priestly role model is Father Gribble, who was at St. Edward’s during my deacon year. I truly respected and resonated with his approach to priesthood: ‘Meet your people where they are, be yourself, apologize when you have to, but don’t apologize for being yourself.’
“This coincided with advice I received from Donna Trivisonno of Cleveland and Cathy Shaffer of Columbus, with whom I’ve been friends since before entering the seminary. Donna said, ‘Don’t lose yourself or who you are,’ and Cathy told me, ‘Remember which side of the pew you were on first. Those are the ones to whom you’re ministering.’ I’ve tried to always keep that in mind.
“Being a priest has allowed me to bring together everything I’ve ever learned or experienced in my life, to show God’s love to His people and to draw them together to worship, learn and know that God loves them even though they are sinners – loved and redeemed sinners," he said.
“My life experiences have given me tools to be able to be right down there in the trenches and up to the rafters with my congregations and community, to meet the people where they are and show that if God can use an entertainer, He can use anyone.”
Father Hritsko will celebrate his 25th anniversary Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Leonard Church, 57 Dorsey Mill Road, at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 28. It will be a joint effort with Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church.
Musicians and singers who have worked with Father Hritsko are invited to participate, and people from all the parishes he has served are welcome to attend. The Mass setting will be one of his own composed settings.
Following Mass, there will be a lamb and hog roast (“Slavic picnic meets Hawaiian luau,” Father Hritsko said). For information and reservations, contact St. Leonard at (740) 522-5270, or Our Lady of Mount Carmel at (740) 928-3266.
