Six New Priests in Lincoln!

Yesterday, the Diocese of Lincoln ordained six new Priests. We have a total of less that 100K Catholics. Los Angeles has almost 4.4 million. I can't find figures for this year, but last year they, too, ordained six new Priests. Obviously, something is different! Could this be it?  Why Aren't Other Dioceses Looking to Lincoln?

From the Southern Nebraska Register

By Reagan Scott

LINCOLN (SNR) - Archbishop George Lucas will ordain Deacons Hile, Froeschl, Johnson, Sasse, Wahlmeier and Wirth to the priesthood for the Lincoln Diocese, and will ordain Dale Allder and Matthew Kovar to the diaconate.

The diaconate and priesthood ordination Masses will take place May 22 and 23, respectively.

Following state and county health regulations, people may attend Masses by invitation only, but both will be livestreamed at www.lincolndiocese.org/stream. All are invited to join in the celebration online.

Because of the limitations on gatherings, the first Masses of all the ordinandi will also be celebrated privately, but each of the men will celebrate Masses of Thanksgiving in the coming weeks, with more information to come.

Despite the differences in this year’s ordinations, everyone is encouraged to join the diocese in prayer for all the men to be ordained.

Deacon Caleb Hile

Devotion to the Blessed Mother and Eucharistic Adoration spurred Deacon Hile to consider the vocation to the priesthood as God’s personal calling for him.

The son of Dan and Deb Hile, Deacon Hile is from St. Joseph Parish in Lincoln and will celebrate his first Mass there. He has three sisters and one brother.

“My parents have been a great witness of the faith to me over the years,” Deacon Hile said. “Also the great priests and religious of the Diocese of Lincoln.

Especially the Christ the King Sisters during my grade school education, Sister Mary Fidelis and Sister Mary Faustina.”

Other people who impacted his growth in the faith at Pius X High School included Mother Anne Marie, Father Nicholas Kipper, Father Benjamin Holdren, Father Leo Seiker and Father James Meysenburg.

Once ordained, Deacon Hile is looking forward to celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, hearing confessions and teaching the Catholic faith.

Deacon Robert Froeschl

Deacon Froeschl is the son of Phil and Laurie Froeschl and has five brothers and three sisters. His home parish is Ss. Peter and Paul in Falls City, where he will celebrate his first Mass.

On Sept. 30, 2012, Deacon Froeschl received a grace from God that made it clear he should enter the seminary during the reading of the Gospel at Sunday Mass.

He said, “Up to this point I had never seriously considered the priesthood as a viable option. Sometimes God needs to pull out the big guns for the more stubborn (or) slow.”

Deacon Froeschl said that Father Rick Nagel of Indianapolis was a great help and inspiration in the discernment of his vocation, as well as parish priests like Msgr. Robert Roh.

“They all helped in various ways in my discernment and set examples of joy in the priesthood,” he said.

After his ordination, Deacon Froeschl is most looking forward to celebrating Mass and the sacrament of Confession.

Deacon Robert Johnson

Deacon Johnson’s home parish is the Church of the Annunciation in Kearney, Mo., but he said he considers St. Thomas Aquinas Church, the UNL Newman Center, to be his home parish in Lincoln.

Deacon Johnson is the son of Jimmy and Theresa Johnson and has an older brother and sister.

He credits his time at the Newman Center and Phi Kappa Theta Catholic Fraternity at UNL with helping him be open to listening to the call to the seminary, and first heard the call to the seminary during his senior year but took a job in Texas working as an engineer.

“After I moved down there,” he said, “I found out that my pastor was the vocations director for the Diocese of Victoria in Texas, and then I knew that I was going to end up in the seminary. I finally accepted the call on Good Friday in 2014 and the rest, as they say, is history.”

Deacon Johnson is grateful to his parents and family, Father Robert Matya, Father Holdren, Father Dan Morales, his pastor in Texas and his brother Phi Kaps for his discerning the call to his vocation.

Deacon Johnson said, “I am excited to be able to celebrate Mass for and with the people, but I am most excited for that moment when, please God, I get to Heaven and the Lord shows me the people whom He was able to reach through my vocation as His priest.”

Deacon Alec Sasse

Deacon Sasse’s home parish is St. Michael in Lincoln, but he attended St. Peter School growing up, and will celebrate his first Mass there. Deacon Sasse is the son of Ted and Janna Sasse and has two younger brothers, one of whom passed away last May.

Deacon Sasse said when he was a senior at Pius X High School, he started to take his faith more seriously and was looking for something more in his life, to live less for himself and more for Christ and others.

“The idea of the seminary popped into my head and wouldn’t leave, so I decided to give it a try,” he said. “I thought I would go for a year, cross it off the list, and move onto other things. But the Lord began to transform my heart and I fell in love with the priesthood.”

He said he was inspired by the way his pastor, Father Kenneth Borowiak, lived out his priesthood. Deacon Sasse said he ignited his faith, taught him how to pray and helped him discern his vocation.

Following his ordination, Deacon Sasse is most looking forward to hearing confessions because he knows personally the power of God’s mercy.

He said, “I long to bring that mercy to others.”
 
Deacon Joseph Wahlmeier

Deacon Wahlmeier is the son of Patrick and Debra Wahlmeier and is the 11th of 15 children. He has eight brothers and six sisters. His home parish is St. Michael in Hastings, and he will celebrate his first Mass there.

“I entered seminary after a year at UNL,” he explained, “where the priests, FOCUS missionaries, and Newman Center community provided the perfect place for me to grow in the spiritual life and to discover my place in God’s plan. Through a habit of prayer and a growing trust in God’s plan for my life, the call became clear.”

Deacon Wahlmeier said he is grateful to those who gave their time, talents and witness to the many diocesan youth ministry activities throughout the years. He said the SKY camps, Totus Tuus summers, TEC retreats and March for Life pilgrimages brought him closer to God and inspired him to give of his life as those individuals gave of theirs.

Since this year’s ordination will be so different with limited attendance, Deacon Wahlmeier said he is looking forward to sharing this celebration of ordination gradually throughout the year in a more personal way with each individual he meets.

Deacon Brian Wirth

Deacon Brain Wirth will celebrate his first Mass at his home parish of St. Mary in Nebraska City. He is the son of Jim and Cheryl Wirth and has an older brother.

“Growing up on the farm and living in a rural farmhouse were major factors which led me to the seminary,” Deacon Wirth said. “This environment helped me see the beauty of God’s creation and the gift of silence. Also, I became a regular altar server beginning in the third grade, which helped me see the Mass and the priesthood in a very powerful way.”

Deacon Wirth is grateful to his parents, grandparents and the rest of his family for helping him discern the call to the priesthood as well as all of the priests, especially Father Michael McCabe and Father Steven Mills, and parishioners that he has encountered and gotten to know over the years at St. Mary.

He is also grateful the faculty and staff at Lourdes Central Catholic, his high school football coaches and Father Matya and Father Holdren, who greatly helped him discern his call during his college years at the Newman Center. 

 Deacon Wirth said, “I am most looking forward to being able to celebrate and pray the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass every day! But also, I am looking forward to being able to celebrate all of the Sacraments for the People of God. I am also looking forward to teaching in both the parish and school setting.”