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Obituaries

Parish Grieves Loss of Beloved 'Father Mike'

The Rev. Michael Chernetzki, parochial vicar of St. Peter Church, dies Monday. Visitation will be held from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, at St. Peter Catholic Church.

The Rev. Michael Chernetzki of St. Peter Church — the beloved parochial vicar known as "Father Mike" to the St. Peter congregation — died Monday after complications from cancer treatment, the church office confirmed Tuesday.

The parish center said church officials were meeting today (Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013) to plan funeral arrangements.

Visitation will be held from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, at St. Peter Catholic Church. Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 25, at St. Peter Catholic Church with the Most Rev. David J. Malloy presiding. 

Interment will follow at Resurrection Cemetery in Geneva.


Chernetzki had been diagnosed with a brain tumor in March. The tumor was removed, and a second growth was discovered at that time. In July, he was getting back to the parish when he developed cellulitis, which caused a wound to his left ankle.

Chernetzki was a people's priest, very down to earth and caring, and he showed courage and faith in his everyday role as well as in the manner in which he bore his pain.

"In all of this, even as a priest, it has been difficult at times," he said in a note in the parish newsletter. "We come to wonder why those He loves must suffer so much. Why if the only thing I wanted to avoid were headaches, do I receive the gift I wished to escape? The answer is simple: No cross, no crown. Carrying the cross willingly is the surest way to His Crown of Glory."

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