In this season of fond farewells, we’d like to introduce our Senior Class of 2025. You’re sure to have a smile on your face as you read the thoughtful answers these 20 Men in Christ shared in response to four quick questions:
My Priest Hero?
Biggest Lesson Learned at SJV?
On My Bookshelf?
Favorite Liturgy or Celebration this Time of Year?
Luke Capoun
Archdiocese of Omaha
My Priest Hero: Fr. Michael Eckley because of his great joy and magnanimity in pastoring and his ability to suffer well.
Biggest Lesson Learned at SJV: Dive into your vocation. It helps no one to be fickle while pursuing God’s will.
On My Bookshelf: That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis.
Favorite Liturgy or Celebration: Priestly Ordinations.
Nicholas Deutsch
Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis
My Priest Hero: Fr. Tom Niehaus for his fidelity, conviction, and commitment to living the Gospel.
Biggest Lesson Learned at SJV: How to abide in the Love of God rather than myself with my weaknesses and failures.
On My Bookshelf: Joan of Arc: Her Story by Régine Pernoud and Marie-Véronique Clin.
Favorite Liturgy or Celebration: SJV’s Crowning of Mary & Benefactor Mass.
Joe Etnier
Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis
My Priest Hero: Fr. Peter Yakubu Ali for his fiery love for God and the joyfulness he shows others.
Biggest Lesson Learned at SJV: Being real and genuine with God in prayer.
On My Bookshelf: Reiser’s Ramblings: A Collection of Columns by the Founding Pastor of Epiphany Parish in Coon Rapids, Minnesota by Fr. Bernard Reiser.
Favorite Liturgy or Celebration: Holy Week.
Andrew Glotzbach
Diocese of Kalamazoo
My Priest Hero: Fr. Tom McNally for showing me how God loves me as a beloved son.
Biggest Lesson Learned at SJV: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11).
On My Bookshelf: Island of the World by Michael D. O’Brien.
Favorite Liturgy or Celebration: Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.
José Antonio González
Archdiocese of Chicago
My Priest Hero: Father Miguel Venegas Aceves for his resemblance of St. Joseph, exemplifying faithfulness, hard work, rest, and balance.
Biggest Lesson Learned at SJV: To be a beloved son of God is becoming a Man of Christ which, in freedom, requires discipline.
On My Bookshelf: The Intellectual Life: Its Spirit, Conditions, Methods by A.G. Sertillanges, OP.
Favorite Liturgy or Celebration: Memorial of St. Maria Goretti.
Logan Halma
Diocese of Sioux Falls
My Priest Hero: Fr. Joseph Forcelle because he was the prototype of joy the summer I spent with him.
Biggest Lesson Learned at SJV: To be vulnerable and make yourself known to the formation team.
On My Bookshelf: The Autobiography of Saint Margaret Mary.
Favorite Liturgy or Celebration: Memorial of St. Augustine.
John Kleis
Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis
My Priest Hero: Fr. James McConville for showing me the glories and difficulties of the priesthood.
Biggest Lesson Learned at SJV: Through our honesty and vulnerability, God will mold our hearts to understand, desire, and choose the Good.
On My Bookshelf: The Old English epic poem, Beowulf.
Favorite Liturgy or Celebration: Solemnity of Pentecost.
Ashton Lacko
Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis
My Priest Hero: Fr. Frankie Floeder because his humility enables the Lord to work profoundly through him.
Biggest Lesson Learned at SJV: The importance of discipline in the spiritual life, especially in the life of a priest.
On My Bookshelf: The Glories of Divine Grace by Fr. Matthias J. Scheeben.
Favorite Liturgy or Celebration: Feast of Corpus Christi.
Brenden Lake
Archdiocese of Chicago
My Priest Hero: Fr. Paul Guzman, U.S. Navy Chaplain, inspired me by his incredible witness of faith and service to others.
Biggest Lesson Learned at SJV: A disciplined life fosters freedom, creating space for joy to fill and sustain the soul.
On My Bookshelf: No Bullet Got Me Yet: The Relentless Faith of Father Kapaun by John Stansifer.
Favorite Liturgy or Celebration: SJV’s Crowning of Mary & Benefactor Mass.
Andrew Lehnen
Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis
My Priest Hero: Fr. Matthew Alexander for the incredible love he has for the Heart of Jesus which allows him to live in deep prayer as a truly beloved son of God.
Biggest Lesson Learned at SJV: I can only find stable ground in Christ, because His Love is the source of everything that really matters.
On My Bookshelf: Fathered by God by John Eldredge.
Favorite Liturgy or Celebration: The Triduum.
John Paul Narog
Diocese of Duluth
My Priest Hero: Fr. Seth Gogolin for his example of living a balanced life, putting God’s Will first, and doing all things in charity.
Biggest Lesson Learned at SJV: How to truly pray, especially through the daily Holy Hour.
On My Bookshelf: In Sinu Jesu by a Benedictine monk.
Favorite Liturgy or Celebration: Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
John Piang
Diocese of Joliet
My Priest Hero: Fr. Ethan Hokamp for his sincerity in celebrating Holy Mass and for his relatability.
Biggest Lesson Learned at SJV: “We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son.” -St. John Paul II.
On My Bookshelf: The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis.
Favorite Liturgy or Celebration: Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Dominic Romportl
Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis
My Priest Hero: Bishop Michael Izen for his prayerfulness.
Biggest Lesson Learned at SJV: How important a relationship with Christ is for holiness.
On My Bookshelf: Fr. Elijah: An Apocalypse by Michael D. O’Brien.
Favorite Liturgy or Celebration: SJV’s Crowning of Mary & Benefactor Mass.
Isaac Schneider
Diocese of Grand Rapids
My Priest Hero: Fr. Noah Thelen for his reverence in the sacraments, being present to those around him, firmness in his identity, and strong pursuit of the true, good, and beautiful.
Biggest Lesson Learned at SJV: Learning how the Lord speaks and how He sees me.
On My Bookshelf: I Believe in Love by Fr. Jean C. J. d’Elbée.
Favorite Liturgy or Celebration: Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Carlos Sepulveda
Archdiocese of Chicago
My Priest Hero: Fr. Luke Winkelmann for being a man of deep prayer, wholly committed to the Lord, who brings the people of God closer to Jesus Christ.
Biggest Lesson Learned at SJV: In our weakness, God draws us closer so that we learn the way of the Lord and listen to Him.
On My Bookshelf: Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales.
Favorite Liturgy or Celebration: Feast of Corpus Christi.
David Shamblin
Diocese of Grand Rapids
My Priest Hero: Fr. John Vallier for teaching me a good pastor must be present to his people.
Biggest Lesson Learned at SJV: How to have a structured prayer life; without it, our spiritual life can become a mess.
On My Bookshelf: Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI.
Favorite Liturgy or Celebration: Memorial of St. John Vianney
Dericgladio Shammi
St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Diocese of Chicago
My Priest Hero: Fr. Kevin Mundackal for integrating the intellectual and pastoral pillars in his priesthood.
Biggest Lesson Learned at SJV: Surrendering myself to God’s will, constantly learning to “seek first the kingdom of God” through prayer.
On My Bookshelf: The Priest is Not His Own by Archbishop Fulton Sheen.
Favorite Liturgy or Celebration: The Syro-Malabar season of the Growth of the Church.
Noah U’Ren
Diocese of New Ulm
My Priest Hero: Msgr. John Richter (✝) for showing me the gaze and charity of Christ by giving others his full attention.
Biggest Lesson Learned at SJV: God’s wisdom and providence supersede human planning and all we can hope for.
On My Bookshelf: Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper by Brant Pitre.
Favorite Liturgy or Celebration: Feast of Corpus Christi.
Gregory Wasinski
Diocese of Grand Rapids
My Priest Hero: Fr. Troy Nevins who has shown me in countless ways what it means to live as a man after God’s own heart.
Biggest Lesson Learned at SJV: Holiness consists in turning to the Lord amid life’s struggles, joys, and everything in between.
On My Bookshelf: The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton.
Favorite Liturgy or Celebration: Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Matthew Wilson
Diocese of Lansing
My Priest Hero: Fr. Mark Rutherford for his joyful witness to a life of intimacy with Jesus.
Biggest Lesson Learned at SJV: A life given wholly over to God is worth living and beyond our greatest desires.
On My Bookshelf: I Want to See God by Fr. Marie-Eugène of the Infant Jesus, OCD.
Favorite Liturgy or Celebration: Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary