SALT LAKE CITY — Father Arkadiusz “Eric” Szyda, a Polish-born priest, has been appointed as the new Catholic chaplain at the George E. Wahlen VA Hospital in Salt Lake City. 
In this role, Fr. Szyda provides spiritual leadership to about 100 inpatients, as well as outpatients and medical personnel, regardless of their religious denomination. He also offers the sacraments to those who are Catholic. In addition, he is completing his Clinical Pastoral Education to become fully certified as a health care chaplain.
Born and raised during the communist era, Fr. Szyda grew up in Opole, Poland, close to the mountains. He attended a public elementary school followed by a Catholic high school. He was inspired to become a priest by the kindness of a local priest who distributed candies to the children – a rare luxury at the time. 
“I remember when I was ... attending my First Communion ... I felt like, ‘I gotta be a priest because I want to give away candies as well,’” he said. “So that was my [childish] understanding of the priesthood.”
Over time, Fr. Szyda’s discernment and understanding of the priesthood deepened. After graduating from the Higher Theological Seminary of the Diocese of Opole, he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Alfons Nossol for the Diocese of Opole in 1998, then served for five years as an associate pastor.
 In 2004, he was sent by his bishop to San Antonio, Texas, to minister to Polish-American communities. This was a specific mission to serve the descendants of Polish families who had migrated to southern Texas in the mid-1800s. While in Texas, he served as pastor at three different parishes – St. Anthony in Poth, Our Lady Queen of Peace in Kenedy, and Holy Name in San Antonio – and learned Spanish to better serve his congregations.
After becoming a naturalized United States citizen in 2013, Fr. Szyda felt drawn to serve his new country and joined the military as a chaplain. 
“In order for me ... [to] become an American, that I can proudly become one and call myself, I felt like I have to also make some form of sacrifice ... toward to this country, and. .. [I] discerned that the military would be a way to do it,” he said. 
For the next 12 years, Fr. Szyda served as a military chaplain. He moved 10 times and spent the majority of his service overseas. 
“That way of life is all constantly moving,” Fr. Szyda said. “Personally, that was wearing me out because I was not able to connect on the personal level with anybody.”
Now, after a dozen years as an active-duty military chaplain, Fr. Szyda is happy to be transitioning to clinical ministry to serve veterans and medical staff. He describes his move to the VA as a “more fitted” chapter of his life, allowing him to continue serving those in uniform while finding more personal stability after years of constant military relocation. 
Fr. Szyda’s contract with the hospital is open-ended, and he hopes to put down roots in Utah, where he is happy to be back in the mountains. An avid hiker, snowboarder and skier, Fr. Szyda finds the mountains to be a sanctuary and a place of reflection. 
“I am not a city person,” he said. “I don’t care about the city; I am overwhelmed by too many people. I enjoy [being] somewhere away from a very populated area, so my way to rest is getting into the mountains and spending my time out there.”
Though he resides at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Fr. Szyda serves under the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, led by Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio.