Living the Faith: Dan Knob and Andrea Uscinski

WEST END -- “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

By the time this newspaper reaches most readers, Dan Knob and Andrea Uscinski will have heard these words pronounced by Father Daniel O’Connell and they will be beginning married life together.

On Saturday, August 2, the couple will be married at their parish, St. Joseph in Boston’s Back Bay--a parish they have called their own during their year-long engagement.

“Our parish definitely feels like a community, especially because of Father Dan,” said Knob.

“He makes you feel like you’re really a part of the parish,” agreed Uscinski.

Calling St. Joseph’s “the little church tucked away in a big city,” Uscinski, 25, described her parish as a “mix of two worlds”--that of families who have been living in the West End of Boston and on Beacon Hill for generations and newcomers who have recently moved to the area because of their careers.

“Father Dan is unbelievably gifted at being able to bridge that gap and have everyone feel welcome here,” she continued.

It was this welcoming nature that motivated Uscinski to become a lector and Knob, 28, to become an extraordinary minister of holy Communion.

According to Knob, Father Dan’s enthusiasm attracts others into the parish. Knob noted that the marriage preparation program offered by his parish is often inundated with area couples who come to St. Joseph’s “because they see something inspiring here.”

“This is our parish,” Knob added, “and will continue to be our parish even if we do not live in the area. We like that we are known here--that we are really a part of a family here.”

Both Knob and Uscinski were raised Catholic, although neither has roots in Boston. Uscinski, originally from Arizona, came to Massachusetts four years ago to attend graduate school at Brandeis University. Knob, originally from upstate New York, also moved to Boston four years ago, discerning whether God was calling him to become a priest of the Brotherhood of Hope.

It was during the discernment process that Knob and Uscinski first met, through a Somerville young adult group. Knob, after realizing God was not calling him to the priesthood, returned to New York and moved back to Boston only two years ago. The couple became engaged last year, shortly after joining St. Joseph Parish.

“Both of us are very passionate about our faith,” Uscinski declared. It is “one of the main reasons we are getting married, because we see it as a call from God.”

“[Our faith] is the glue that keeps us together,” she added.

“It shapes everything we do--it affects every decision we make, both personally and professionally,” agreed Knob.

“For us, our faith is very much the family we belong to,” he continued. “We both love our blood families very much, but to belong to the body of Christ is to belong to an even bigger family-- one that both encompasses our blood families and spreads out throughout the world.”

St. Joseph, West End

Year established -- 1862

Pastor -- Father Daniel O’Connell

In residence -- Father Robert Reed, Father Celestino Pascual

Religious Education Director -- Denise Tompkins

Music Director -- Joseph Cipoletta

Parish Secretary -- Mary Sego