Fr. Charles Sikorsky, LC
- CWM
- Jul 25
- 3 min read
Leadership and Mission in Action
Devastating fires swept through Los Angeles earlier this year, destroying the homes of nearly four hundred families from Catholic parishes in the Altadena/Pasadena area. Amid their fear and grief at this sudden tragedy, families needed hope to move forward.
Fr. Charles Sikorsky, a Legionary of Christ and president of Divine Mercy University, swiftly answered this need. Partnered with Catholic World Mission and the Green Cross Academy for Traumatology, Divine Mercy University sent two teams of trained traumatologists to be the face of Christ to first responders and families suffering unimaginable loss.
“It was a very fulfilling experience,” stated Fr. Sikorsky. “Everyone was watching it on television – seeing people in such dire circumstances – and thinking, ‘I wish I could do something to help.’”
Through Catholic World Mission, people were given an avenue to do exactly that by donating to Divine Mercy University’s disaster response effort.
“I saw it as a way to help people do something about this tragic situation. Not everybody can fly to California, but we could certainly help. That was very rewarding.”
Called to Serve
Fr. Sikorsky has long been conscious of the need people have for mercy and healing, especially in a culture that is deeply confused about human nature.
Before discerning a priestly vocation, Fr. Sikorsky studied economics and attended law school. In seminary, he went on to study theology, philosophy, and canon law. These years gave him opportunities to develop the discipline, work ethic, and administrative and organizational skills that would prepare him for his mission building the kingdom of God as a Legionary of Christ.
It was through his experience of administration, canon law, and pastoral work, as well as his apostolic formation as a Legionary priest, that Fr. Sikorsky began to see the real need for psychology to be grounded in a solid understanding of human nature and the human person.
Other Catholics in the psychological profession were witnessing a dichotomy between what they believed and what worked in practice as opposed to the training received in secular settings and what modern psychological science was saying. Aware of a need for something that did not yet exist, these lay psychologists came together to found Divine Mercy University, a Catholic graduate university of psychology and counseling that seeks to understand and to serve the whole person – mind, body, and soul. In 2007, Fr. Sikorsky was nominated president.
The name ‘Divine Mercy’ well illustrates the university’s mission.
“We don’t just want to form people who are knowledgeable and technically skilled – though that part is necessary – we want our graduates to be very good from a scientific and technical standpoint, but we also really want to form the heart,” says Fr. Sikorsky.
From our faith, we know that there is a goodness present in each person due to their inherent dignity as a child of God made in His likeness and image. Divine Mercy University strives to empower its students to serve with compassion and mercy through this faith-informed understanding of the human person, as “no matter how many layers of difficulty or disfunction, you have goodness there.”
Formed to lead and to serve with compassion and a deep love and respect for the dignity of each human person, graduates go on to help people in private practices, schools, parishes, and hospitals. Some work in seminaries in priestly formation. Some work as religious sisters in different congregations and consecrated branches. All of them – one way or another – go on to help and to give back to the church.
Fr. Sikorsky hopes that his students will serve an important role in the new evangelization, not necessarily by proselytizing, but by walking as Christ with those who are suffering.
“As a therapist, you’re able to speak with people about the deepest kinds of things. You have conversations that go into the heart and soul, who and what a person is.”
Through this mission, Fr. Sikorsky has been able to lead Divine Mercy University in equipping psychologists to bring hope, healing, and faith-informed leadership to those in need of mercy.
“What I had to learn the most was to get out of God’s way – not to let my own human limitations and preconceptions get in the way of what God can do,” Fr. Sikorsky says. “If we cooperate, offer ourselves and our work, and try to motivate and inspire others to work hard for the mission – well, we do that, and God does great things.”
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