Bishop Emil A. Wcela, retired auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, who was a member of the parish staff at St. John the Evangelist Church in Riverhead, died May 21, 2022. He was 91 years old.
Born in Bohemia on May 1, 1931, he was the son of Emil and Albina (Kovarik) Wcela.
He received his formal education at St. John Nepomucene School, in Bohemia, Seton Hall High School in Patchogue, St. Francis College, in Brooklyn and Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington.
He was ordained to the priesthood on June 2, l956. After serving as associate pastor of Maria Regina Church in Seaford, he was appointed in 1959 to the faculty of St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary, where he taught Latin. During this time he also served as chaplain of the Newman Club at Hofstra University.
Bishop Wcela pursued classical studies at Fordham University and in l961 he was assigned to advanced studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and then at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. He had master’s degrees in Classical Studies from Fordham and in Semitic Studies from Catholic University. He pursued further studies in theology at The Catholic University of America and in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute.
In 1965, Bishop Wcela was assigned to the faculty of Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, where he also served as rector from 1973 to 1979. He also served as director of the program for the continuing education of priests from 1969 to 1975.
He was the author of six books in a Bible study series, “God’s Word Today,” and of many articles and book reviews.
He was named pastor of St. Joseph’s Church, Garden City in 1979 and served there until 1987, when he took a sabbatical at Immaculate Conception Seminary. On January 21, 1988, Bishop Wcela was named founding pastor of Resurrection Church in Farmingville.
On October 25, 1988, Pope John Paul II appointed Wcela auxiliary bishop of the Rockville Centre Diocese and he was ordained on December 13, l988 at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre. He served as vicar for the Eastern Vicariate of the diocese until his retirement on April 3, 2007.
He is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Joseph and Barbara Wcela, of Florida.
Visitation will take place at St. John the Evangelist Church in Riverhead on Thursday May 26 from 2 to 5 p.m.
A Mass of Transferral will be offered on Thursday, May 26 at 7:30 p.m. at St. John the Evangelist Church in Riverhead .
A funeral Mass will be offered on Friday, May 27 at 11 a.m. at St. John Nepomucene in Bohemia. Interment will follow at the parish cemetery.