Brother Andrew E. Marsolek

Brother Andrew E. Marsolek, M.M. died on April 7, 2025, in the Skilled Nursing Unit at Maryknoll, NY. He was 88 years old and a Maryknoll Brother for 62 years.

Andrew Edwin Marsolek was born in Independence, WI, on October 27, 1936, son of Frances Pieterick Marsolek and Andrew Marsolek, Jr. He had one sister and one brother. He attended Saints Peter and Paul Grammar School and Independence High School in Independence, WI. After high school, he served four years in the U.S. Navy, attaining the rank of Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class. While in the Navy, he served at Whidbey Island and Oak Harbor in Washington, Kodiak, AK and Iwakuni, Japan.

After receiving an Honorable Discharge in 1959 and working for a time for American Motors in Milwaukee, WI, Andrew entered Maryknoll in September 1960. While training at Maryknoll, he studied photography at New York University and the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He took his First Oath on June 2, 1962, taking the religious name of Constantine. Brother Andy, as he was known, took his Perpetual Oath in 1969 and worked for several years as a photographer for Maryknoll Magazine.

On July 1, 1972, Brother Andy was assigned to Mexico. After studying Spanish in Cochabamba, Bolivia, he began doing pastoral work in Mexico City. He adapted his award-winning photography skills and instructional videos to teach religious instruction and formation. He began a video library that was used by other churches for instructional purposes. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus in the United States since the 1950s, and various Knights of Columbus Councils in the States provided him with financial aid to continue his video work. In addition, he studied Theology with the Guadalupe Missioners in Mexico City. Brother Andy worked with several parishes in the Yucatan Peninsula to establish video as part of their evangelization efforts and served as a Chaplain at Hospital Juarez, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico and Clinica Merida, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. While in the States, he also assisted with Development work in New York, the Midwest and California for both English- and Spanish-speaking people.

After thirty years in mission in Mexico, Brother Andy joined the Retirement Community (now Senior Missioner Community) in April 2002 and moved to Florida. He served the people of Incarnation Parish in Tampa for nine years. During this time, he helped at Town & Country Hospital as a Eucharistic minister and visited the many homebound parishioners. In 2008, he received an acknowledgment from the Knights of Columbus State Council in Florida recognizing his membership of 50 years. He also participated in the local Post 506 of the American Legion. His love and talent for photography was appreciated as he took pictures of the many events in the parish.

In March 2012, Brother Andy went to Rome for a month of spiritual renewal and then took up residence at the Society Center in Maryknoll, NY. He remained active in his retirement, regularly taking photos of local and Society events for Maryknoll News, as well as visiting with patients at Phelps Memorial Hospital, helping at a local parish in Ossining, NY and continuing his membership in the American Legion and the Knights of Columbus. He was appreciated by many for his amiable personality and his vital and contagious optimism about life and mission.

Brother Andy is survived by his cousin, LeRoy Marsolek of Whitehall, WI; his nieces, Betty Willard and Audrey Johnson, both of Maple Grove, MN, and Shirley Hanson of Whitehall, WI; and his nephews, Mike Maciosek of Sparks, NV and Tom Maciosek of Glendale, AZ. He was predeceased by his sister, Irene Lyga, and his brother, Everett (Jack) Maciosek.

A Mass of Christian Burial was concelebrated on April 11, 2025, in the Queen of Apostles Chapel at the Maryknoll Society Center in Maryknoll, NY. Father Timothy Kilkelly, M.M. was the Celebrant, and Brother John Blazo, M.M. offered a reflection. Burial followed in the Maryknoll Society Cemetery with Brother Wayne Fitzpatrick presiding at the graveside prayers.