PUNXSUTAWNEY -- Rev. Simeon B. Sibenik is the new pastor of Ss. Peter and Paul Byzantine Catholic Church, but he’s not new to the area. Recently, he transferred here from St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Munhall, a suburb of Pittsburgh.
Sibenik became the pastor of St. John the Baptist in 2002, but before that assignment, he was a pastor in Sykesville and DuBois for nine years.
When Ss. Peter & Paul became available, he decided to return to Jefferson County.
“I fell in love with this area and the people,” Sibenik said. “There’s a homey feeling here that you don’t get in the city, so that’s why I wanted to come back.”
Sibenik is originally from Trenton, N.J., and came to Pennsylvania almost three decades ago to join the Holy Trinity Monastery in Butler. Upon leaving the monastery, he joined the archdiocese in this area and now has been a priest for 27 years.
Sibenik said he always knew he wanted to be a priest, that it would be impossible to imagine himself not being one.
“Since I was a young boy, I knew it was something that I just had to do,” he said. “I wouldn’t have been happy doing anything else.”
Two weeks ago, Sibenik moved to Punxsutawney to begin as pastor at Ss. Peter & Paul, and brought along his seven-year-old daschund, Ralph, that he bought from a breeder in Marion Center.
“Ralph is happy to be home,” Sibenik said, and it seems like Sibenik is happy to be back here, too.
“The people’s participation and dedication to their church is my favorite thing about being here,” he said. “Whether they’re parishioners or not, everyone is so friendly. It’s a very welcoming community.”
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