Clergy & Staff Directory

Fr. Peter Wojcik Pastor

Fr. Peter Wojcik was born in Lublin, Poland. He arrived in Chicago in 2003 to undertake graduate studies in theology at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Mundelein. As a seminarian, he undertook pastoral assignments in his home parish of Saint John Brebeuf in Niles and Our Lady of the Wayside in Arlington Heights.

Fr. Peter was ordained a deacon by Cardinal Francis George in 2007 and then a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2008. His first assignment as a priest was at Saint Francis Xavier Parish in Wilmette, where he served for four years. During that time, Fr. Peter studied bioethics at Georgetown University and participated in a year-long residency as a hospital chaplain at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.

In 2012, Fr. Peter enrolled at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern and moved to Saint Clement as a resident priest. For the six years that Fr. Peter lived at Saint Clement, he enjoyed being a part of the community by celebrating Mass, hearing confessions, participating in God Squad and Theology on Tap, and most importantly, by getting to know parishioners.  In addition to his studies at Kellogg, Fr. Peter served as a chaplain at Children’s Memorial Hospital (now Lurie Children’s) and engaged in healthcare consulting. After graduating from Kellogg, Fr. Peter was asked by Cardinal George to serve as regional associate superintendent for Catholics Schools where he supported 93 parish schools.

In 2015, Cardinal Blase Cupich appointed Fr. Peter Archdiocesan Director of Catechesis and Youth Ministry and a year later entrusted to him the responsibility of restructuring and then overseeing, with Fr. Ron Lewinski, the Department of Parish Vitality and Mission. This involved supporting 16 different offices of the Archdiocese including: Kolbe House Jail Ministry, Campus Ministry, Liturgical Trainings Publications, and all pastoral agencies of the Archdiocese. He also served as the Cardinal’s Liaison to Ethnic Ministries, Archdiocesan Pastoral Council and Archdiocesan Women’s Committee.   

In 2016, Fr. Peter joined the Renew My Church team and took responsibility for overseeing the final stage of parish renewal called Building the New Reality. In 2020, as part of Building the New Reality, Fr. Peter began serving as the pastoral leader of the Faith Hub, a movement of pioneers of pastoral renewal across the Archdiocese. 

On July 1, 2020, Fr. Peter was named as the pastor of Saint Clement Parish. In addition to his pastoral responsibilities as the Pastor of Saint Clement, Cardinal Cupich has requested that Fr. Peter continue his role of overseeing the spiritual and pastoral movement of renewal across the Archdiocese of Chicago through Building the New Reality, as well as remain the pastoral leader of the Faith Hub.

Fr. Peter teaches negotiation and change management at Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University and is a member of the Alpha US Board as well as the Vatican’s Centesimus Annus pro Pontifice Foundation.

Rachel Espinoza Director of Children and Family Catechesis

Rachel Espinoza joined the Saint Clement staff in June 2015. She directs the religious education program for parish children, sacramental preparation, Liturgy of the Word for Children, and family catechesis. She offers training and support for the catechists at Saint Clement and collaborates in providing adult faith formation in the parish. She also guides the Faith Formation Committee called Faith in the Next Generation.

Rachel earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Catechetics from Franciscan University and a Master of Divinity degree from the University of Notre Dame. She has worked professionally in parish ministry for five years and is a certified Pastoral Associate of the Archdiocese of Chicago. She is also an author for Liturgy Training Publications and wrote Sunday Prayer for Catholic School Teachers (2015-2016) and Sunday Prayer for Teens (2016-2017).

“The question of how we are educating in faith is not rhetorical, it is essential. The response calls for courage, creativity and the decision to take paths which are at times yet uncharted. The catechesis, as a component of the process of evangelization, needs to go beyond the simple realm of scholastics, in order to educate believers, beginning with children, to encounter Christ, living and working in his Church. It is the encounter with [Christ] that gives rise to the desire to know him better and thus to follow Him to become his disciples.” ~ Pope Francis, May 29, 2015

Jessina Branyan-Samuel Coordinator of Liturgy

Mary Ellen Blanchard Database Mgr & Financial Stewardship Assistant

Mary Ellen joined Saint Clement Parish staff in August 2008 as Database Manager and Financial Stewardship assistant. As Database Manager she is responsible for keeping parishioner information up to date. This includes adding new parishioner information and changes in parishioner status. In addition, she enters all contributions, prepares various mailing lists and reports. She also provides computer support to the staff.

She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Communications and a master’s degree from National Lewis University as a Reading Specialist. Before joining Saint Clement, Mary Ellen was a Real Estate Broker and owner/broker of a residential mortgage company. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, she is proud mother of two children and Grandmother of a delightful granddaughter.

David Erwin Maintenance

Dave joined Saint Clement Maintenance staff in July 2005. He is responsible for the cleanliness and orderliness of the church, chapel, and parish grounds. In addition, Dave works with staff and parishioners to ensure that the various meetings and activities have the proper set-up. Strong and kind, you will often find Dave helping parishioners and staff by carrying a “heavy load” for our outreach programs. Dave was born in Oak Park and has lived in the Chicago area his entire life. He enjoys music, movies and bike riding.