The State : Priest Wins $6.7 Million

A Roman Catholic priest who won a $6.7-million California State Lottery jackpot left word for callers that he had gone on a retreat to pray about how he should spend the fortune. Boleslaw Wdowiak, known by his nickname “Father Bosco,” of St. Joseph’s Church in Auburn declined interviews, but left a message with his church. “I am happy, confused and very thankful,” Wdowiak’s message said. “The Lord has been good to me all of my life and I have tried to serve him as a priest. This I will continue to do. This money, when it comes, is also a gift which I will try to use in a manner pleasing to the Lord who has blessed me. Because of the new responsibility this prize creates for me, I am going away on retreat to pray and reflect on God’s will for me.” When he returns, Wdowiak will receive the first of 20 annual after-tax checks of $276,000. What the priest does with the money is his own business, said Bishop Francis Quinn of the Sacramento Catholic Diocese.