St. Veronica's Welcomes New Priest

For the past month Father Vincent Euk has been getting used to his new surroundings as the head of . 

For Euk, the journey to the Howell church has been a winding one that has included medical science and politics. After 25 years in the priesthood Euk said this is the profession he is meant to do. "I kind of knew since I was about 10-years-old but I fought it," he said. "You never get full peace of mind and I tried every avenue."

In the end, he said he followed what he knew was his calling. "I found that after doing all these things there was still something missing," he said. "Then I started to discern that god wanted me to be a priest and he's not going to give me peace of mind until I do it."

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens Euk said he spent a year at in Eatontown and had worked in New York City and White Plains before that. 

Following in the footsteps of Father Brendan Williams who led the church for 33 years, Euk said his transition has been a smooth one so far. "He did such a fine job that the transition is kind of simple," he said. "There's a lot of good people working here and they're very helpful."

Since taking over on July 1 Euk said he has been busy getting to know his new congregation. "I have to absorb the culture of the parish to see if there's any goals to be set," he said.

Learning about the people in the parish, he said, will be an important part of the early part of his job. "The people here are very warm," he said. "They seemed very accepting of me so it's a nice parish."

The parish serves close to 5800 families which he said is several times bigger than his last church. "In some ways it's kind of a humbling thing," he said of leading such a big group. "Bishop (David) O'Connell has given me a position like this. It shows he has a great deal of confidence in me."

Father Euk said his faith plays an important role in how he conducts himself on a daily basis in his work and his life. "I just see it as the will of God," he said. "I have no expectations and I just hope that God gives me the graces to do my job the best I can."