Hey! So Glad You're Here.

          My name is Rev. Lawrence E. Polansky and I am a Priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden, NJ. I grew up in the Woodstream section of Marlton, NJ and attended public school in the Evesham Township School District through eighth grade. My high school years were spent at Bishop Eustace Preparatory School in Pennsauken, NJ. I have always been interested in math, science, and history. Upon graduation in 1982, I entered Albright College in Reading, PA and matriculated in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and a minor in Asian Studies. While I believed I was being called to a career in healthcare, I received my certification in Medical Technology and worked as a med tech in hospital laboratories in and around southern New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the Baltimore, MD for almost twenty years, concentrating primarily in immunohematology (blood bank), histocompatibility (organ transplant), and cancer research. I had no idea that the Holy Spirit would eventually move me in a totally different direction. 

 

          In 2001, a desire to enrich my spiritual life led me to a Catholic-lay organization known as Our Lady's Missionaries of the Eucharist. As I spent more time in prayer, I felt called to discern a vocation to the priesthood. I joined a group in Baltimore which would eventually lead me to the application process for seminary. The Holy Spirit would again act and it wasn't long before I was moving back to New Jersey and home. I was accepted as a seminarian for the Diocese of Camden and entered Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. Becoming a student at the age of 39 in August 2003, I was considered a late vocation. I obtained my Masters in Divinity in 2008 with a concentration in Sacred Scripture, prior to being ordained a Transitional Deacon by Bishop Joseph A. Galante, DD, JCD in Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Glassboro, NJ. I was assigned to Saint Isidore the Farmer Church in Vineland, NJ for my diaconate year. My final year in seminary was spent in part completing a Masters of Arts degree in Theology, again concentrating in Sacred Scripture.

 

          I was ordained on May 16, 2009 by Bishop Joseph A. Galante, DD, JCD at Saint Peter Celestine Church in Cherry Hill, NJ. Since ordination i have been assigned to a number of parishes throughout the Diocese: Saint Isidore the Farmer, Vineland, which merged with Sacred Heart, Vineland becoming Christ, the Good Shepherd Parish (2009-2012); The Catholic Community of the Holy Spirit, a merged parish consisting of Holy Name of Jesus, Mullica Hill, Saint Ann, Elmer, and Saint Joseph, Woodstown (2012-2013); Chaplain, Shore Medical Center / Saint Joseph, Somers Point (2013-2015); Saint Peter, Merchantville (2015-2017); Saint Michael the Archangel Parish, a merged parish consisting of Saint Catherine, Clayton and Nativity, Franklinville (2017-2023). In July 2023, I was assigned to Our Lady of Hope Parish, another merged parish consisting of Saint Agnes and Saint Jude, Blackwood.