MIDDLE VILLAGE — Transitional Deacon Paul Zwolak has more than one thing in common with the apostle who wrote 13 letters in the New Testament.

In addition to sharing a first name, both have also described what it’s like to strive toward a destiny, like running a race.

In his second letter to Timothy, St. Paul indicated his ministry and, indeed, his life were about to end. He had no regrets.

“The time of my departure is at hand.” Paul wrote to his protégé, Timothy. “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:6-7).

Deacon Zwolak, 27, competed in cross country and track at Archbishop Molloy High School in Briarwood. He still runs, about eight to 10 miles each time he laces up his trainers.

The two Pauls, however, differ in that while St. Paul began his ministry centuries ago, Deacon Zwolak is just starting his. His ordination into the priesthood is set for 11 a.m. on June 6 at the Cathedral Basilica of St. James in Downtown Brooklyn.

Running has “really taught me a lot about my own prayer life” because communicating with God is not like a sprint, he said. Especially not while the creator of the universe is directing someone’s future, like a priestly vocation.

“It’s more like a marathon,” Deacon Zwolak added. “If you ever ran a long race, you know sometimes you’ll get tired. But you know the finish line is somewhere ahead, so you have to keep pushing.”

Deacon Zwolak’s journey toward ordination began as a thought in the back of his mind while completing elementary school at Our Lady of Hope Catholic Academy in Middle Village.

The school is attached to the parish of the same name, where his family has belonged his entire life. His parents, Jacek and Krystyna Zwolak, immigrated from Gdańsk, Poland, to Middle Village in the 1990s.

“They were the first people that really introduced me to the Catholic faith. They brought me to church,” Deacon Zwolak said. “And growing up, they were the ones who taught me the Our Father, and the Hail Mary.

“The Catholic faith for them is really an important thing.”

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Deacon Zwolak is the second of three children; his older brother, Matthew, is 28, and they have a sister, Lucyna, who is 18.

“Growing up in Catholic school, you always heard about the importance of vocations,” he said. “I always felt like, ‘Yeah, the priesthood, it sounds interesting, but let me just think about it, pray about it.’

“So, it was always in the back of my mind.”

Deacon Zwolak entered Archbishop Molloy High School, which is run by the Marist Brothers. During his senior year, the faculty invited him to a retreat at the Marist Brothers Center at Esopus, in upstate New York. There, he met Brother Alfred George, who made a great impression.

“He was a really peaceful and joy-filled person,” Deacon Zwolak said of Brother Alfred, who passed away in 2023. “He said, ‘I get my joy from my vocation,’ and I took that very seriously,’ ” the transitional deacon continued. “I thought, ‘I want to be as happy as this brother is.’

And ‘I want to serve God, just like this brother is doing.’ ”

He enrolled at St. John’s University in 2017 to study biology. A year later, however, he switched his major to philosophy and entered the undergraduate seminary at Douglaston.

While there, he endured the COVID-19 pandemic, although he said the lockdown enhanced his prayer life.

“It was just a time when everything really slowed down,” he recalled. “So, I had a lot more time to pray and to just really understand more of my vocation.

“It really taught me that God works through the silence.”

Next, in 2021, he entered St. Joseph Seminary and College in Dunwoodie, where he recently completed coursework toward a master’s degree in theology.

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Deacon Zwolak is the only candidate for ordination to the priesthood for the Diocese of Brooklyn this year.

Therefore, Bishop Robert Brennan scheduled the event at the Cathedral Basilica of St. James. This church was where ordinations traditionally took place until class sizes grew, necessitating the move to the larger Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph to accommodate bigger congregations.

Like all soon-to-be ordained priests, Deacon Zwolak has no idea where Bishop Brennan will send him. Still, he hopes to have a parish assignment where he can work with youth.

“They really are an important part of the Church,” he said. “And if they know God and they love God, the Church can be built up so much more through their work.”