Ordained: 2020
Family: Wife, Virgie; one daughter, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren
Assigned parish: St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Roanoke Rapids, NC
Deacon Bernie Zdancewicz was born in Washington, DC, and his parents were founding parishioners of Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Vienna, VA. In his first career, he was an area sales manager for The Hecht Company and a store manager for Belk’s. He later returned to school and is now entering his 16th year as a middle school teacher. He has a B.S. degree in elementary education, an M. Ed. degree in curriculum and instruction and is currently working on an Ed.D. degree in organizational leadership.
Deacon Bernie has served as a lector, eucharistic minister, parish council member, and now director of religious education at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Roanoke Rapids, NC. He has participated in prison ministry and ministry to the sick and homebound. Deacon Bernie and his wife were also involved in starting the AAMEN chapter at St. John the Baptist.
Deacon Bernie is influenced by the writings of St. Francis de Sales, St. Bernard of Clairvaux and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He also loves the old spirituals and the music of Bob Dylan.