Father Jacob Biernacki

The Rev. Jacob S. Biernacki, 75, died Tuesday, March 1, 2016, at Mercy Villa in Springfield after a long illness.
Father Biernacki was born February 12, 1941, in Kizylowka, Poland, to Wladyslaw and Boleslawa (Choinski) Biernacki. He attended seminary in Zamosc and Warsaw, Poland, and graduated from the Seminary of the Pauline Fathers in Krakow, Poland. Father Biernacki was ordained July 1, 1967, by Bishop Tadeusz in Czestochowa, Poland, during the time Pope St. John Paul II was Cardinal-Archbishop there. Ordained for the Order of St. Paul the First Hermit, Fr. Biernacki came to the US in 1970. After becoming a US citizen, Fr. Biernacki was incardinated into the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau on June 22, 1981.
Father Biernacki’s first pastoral assignment in the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau was in 1979, where he was appointed Associate Pastor for St. Agnes Cathedral, Springfield. In 1980, Fr. Biernacki was appointed as the Parochial Administrator for Saints Peter and Paul Parish in Pulaskifield and Saint Edward Parish in Cassville. A man with an engaging smile and wit, Fr. Biernacki served the Pulaskifield Knights of Columbus as Chaplain. In 1988, he was appointed Pastor of St. Agnes Parish, Sarcoxie. His last pastoral assignment was as Pastor of St. Mary Parish in Lamar and the now-closed St. Joseph Mission Church in Golden City. Facing health issues, Fr. Biernacki retired from active ministry in 2002, and became a longtime resident of Franciscan Villa and later, Mercy Villa in Springfield, until his death.
A vespers service will be held at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 6, 2016, in St. Agnes Cathedral Church, 533 S. Jefferson Ave., Springfield. The Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m. in St. Agnes Cathedral on Monday, March 7. Interment will be in Resurrection Cemetery, Springfield.
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