AFTER a few weeks without a resident priest, Catholics in Haslemere, Hindhead and Chiddingfold were delighted to welcome Father Irek Stadler, who joined them at the start of September.

Father Irek, a former professional handball player – who was born in a village near Gdansk, in Poland, in 1965 – is on loan to the diocese from Thunder Bay, Canada, where he was in charge of two ethnic Polish churches.

Having worked for a time before entering the priesthood, he was ordained in Krakov, in 1993, and spent two years as a parish priest in the north of Poland before being sent as a missionary to Kenya.

When health problems led him to leave Africa, he took a PhD in sociology and went to Canada, where he did pastoral work for 15 years.

He decided to seek a transfer to the UK for various reasons – to improve his English, to be closer to his elderly sick mother, who lives back in Poland, and to be within reach of his niece and nephew who both live in Bristol.

Having been offered several parishes within the Arundel and Brighton diocese, Father Irek (pictured above) chose to come to Haslemere, and is eager to get to know the area and walk in the countryside.

The keen sportsman said he will enjoy cycling around the town and villages he serves. And given his interest in computers and designing websites, his IT skills should also be a great asset to the parish.