CROWN POINT - When James Nielsen was born 49 years ago at what was then St. Anthony Hospital in Crown Point, he needed a little help.
Nielsen was born two months prematurely. Fearing he may not survive, Nielsen’s parents asked the hospital priest, Father Tony Janik, O.F.M., to baptize their infant son.
“Mom always talked about Father Tony,” Nielsen said. “She said he came in and said, ‘I was a preemie, too, and look at me now.’”
Janik initially volunteered in 1975 to help at St. Anthony’s three days a week when another priest was out unexpectedly. That volunteer stint stuck. Janik is celebrating his 50th year at what is now Franciscan Health Crown Point, where he currently serves as director of spiritual care services.
“God has a strange way of moving us to where we should be,” Father Janik said. “We all have our calling and sometimes you find yourself where you never thought you’d wind up.”
The preemie Father Janik baptized went on to thrive. Nielsen grew up in Highland, attending Our Lady of Grace School and parish alongside his three other older sisters. After a short stint as an EMT, he went on to become a police officer. For the past 22 years, he has served as an officer with the Gary Police Department and is now a sergeant in the homicide division.
Nielsen’s sister is only nine months older, and doesn’t remember her brother’s difficult birth, but she grew up hearing stories about his hospital baptism by Father Janik.
She visited the former St. Anthony Hospital years later as part of her work with the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration, who run the Catholic healthcare ministry.
“After I became a Sister, we went to different sites and we came to Crown Point for something, I don’t remember what, and I met Father Tony,” she said. “I said, ‘Oh! This is the same Father Tony who would have been here when Jim was born.’”
Sister M. Petra Nielsen now works side by side with Father Janik, as vice president of mission integration for Franciscan Health’s Northern Indiana division. Sister Petra arranged for a reunion earlier this month between her younger brother and Father Tony in the St. Joseph Chapel at Franciscan Health Crown Point, during which they reflected on his hospital baptism.
“That’s what it’s about, prayer and support, whatever the struggle,” Father Janik said. “I’m sure your mother was very distraught.”
Father Janik said he is thankful for the support the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration have provided his team during his 50 years with the hospital.
“It’s always been very clear that the sisters have always been very supportive of the Spiritual Care Team,” he said. “Also, they give us a lot of opportunity for growth. Mission has always been number one. We live the mission and know the ministry is our calling.”
Father Janik said he’s excited for the future growth of Franciscan Health Crown Point, including the new Dean and Barbara White Cancer Center, which is currently under construction and slated to open in 2027.
He has enjoyed being with patients and families from birth to death and everything in between. But his greatest joy in his 50 years with Franciscan, he said, has been what he refers to as, “walking people to the foyer.”
“It’s a God-given privilege to walk people to the foyer as they move from this experience to eternal life,” Father Janik said. “A lot of people are afraid of dying, but it’s a wonderful experience. It’s difficult for the family, yes, but at the end, it’s a blessing.”
Caption: Sister M. Petra Nielsen, vice president of mission integration for Franciscan Health’s Northern Division, shares a laugh with her younger brother, James Nielsen and the Rev. Tony Janik during a recent reunion in the St. James Chapel at Franciscan Health Crown Point.
