Safe in God’s Care
Embedded Files
Aneta de Kerhor
Team Cliff & Vi
When Juliusz Draganski left Poland at 29, he was hoping to begin anew, to get away from alcoholism. After 18 months waiting in an Austrian refugee camp, he was accepted for resettlement in the U.S. and sponsored by the monks of Conception Abbey near Maryville, Missouri. He feared living at a monastery would be a punishment. More than four decades later, he calls it his salvation.
Now 74, Draganski has lived and worked at the abbey for 43 years. He helped paint and restore its church. Although eligible to retire, he works reduced hours repairing buildings, caring for the grounds and making coffins.
The abbey gave Draganski stability. The monks helped him enter rehabilitation twice, and he has been sober for 40 years. He still attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
His life is shaped by work, faith and companionship. He prays in the church he helped restore, shares meals with coworkers and spends Thursday afternoons watching Netflix with Brother Anselm in his apartment. Poland remains present through memories and annual visits of several weeks, when he spends time with his longtime girlfriend, Ela.
As Draganski grows older, he remains rooted in the place he once feared. His story asks what makes a place a home and what comes next when the work that gave his life its rhythm begins to slow.
Juliusz Draganski, 74, a Polish immigrant, stands in the cemetery of the Conception Abbey in Conception, Missouri on Sept. 23, 2026. He overlooks the graves of two monks who lost their lives during a tragic shooting in 2002.
Juliusz stands inside the Conception Abbey church, a place that has become part of his daily life. He is grateful to the monks for helping him overcome his alcoholism.
LEFT: An archival photograph shows Juliusz Draganski with former Polish President Lech Wałęsa during Wałęsa’s 1999 visit to Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville.
RIGHT: A humorous photomontage made by Melissa Brown, Juliusz’s coworker, as a farewell gift for another colleague who left her job the same week.
Juliusz eats in the church's dining hall, most often surrounded by women, who enjoy his company because he is a gentleman. Their everyday conversations show how close-knit this community is.
Juliusz Draganski prays inside the church where he lives and works. He helped restore the church and paint its walls; the frescoes were painted by his coworker, Melissa Brown.
Juliusz, left, talks with Monk Anselm. The two spend every Thursday afternoon in Juliusz’s apartment, where they watch Netflix. It’s become a tradition for them.
Juliusz’s mows the monestary's lawn. It is his favorite way to care for the institution. He likes to listen to music as he works, and the smell of freshly cut grass reminds him of Poland.
Juliusz and his co-worker, Melissa Brown, are finishing up coffins at the workshop in the Abbey. The coffins are used for the monks who die there and are also sold to local residents.
The bench faces a shrine of the Virgin Mary. This is Juliusz's favorite place to sit and remember his parents' last visit. They died several years ago in Poland in Warsaw and a photograph of them from that visit remains a treasured keepsake.
Juliusz appears as a reflection in a church window, his image blending with the chapel’s interior. Though he has no religious vocation, he knows he has found his home here.
Juliusz rests in his room at the Conception Abbey. After decades of work and living there, what comes next remains an open question, but he knows he will never leave.
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