Deacon Vetter

The coronavirus pandemic has forced many of us to switch our schedule on a moment’s notice.

Imagine finding out your ordination will be in a few short days. That’s a change that diocesan seminarian Nick Vetter was faced with just two weeks from packing up to leave for Rome.

The plan was for Nick to be ordained to the transitional diaconate with his classmates in October at the Pontifical North American College in Rome where he’s been studying for the past few years. As a bonus, his uncle, Bishop Austin Vetter, of the Diocese of Helena, was to be the main celebrant for the ordination Mass.

"Although I have been preparing for this for six and a half years, the ordination to the diaconate came about within the last few days,” Nick explained. “We found out from the Pontifical North American College that guests would not be allowed into Italy for the October 1 ordination date. Within two days, in consultation with Father Dosch and Bishop Kagan, we decided to do the ordination on the Solemnity of the Assumption, August 15.”

Instead of no guests attending his ordination Mass in Rome, Nick was surrounded by his extended family, fellow diocesan seminarians and friends, including uncles Bishop Vetter, Msgr. Thomas Richter and Fr. David Richter.

Nick and three others are scheduled to be ordained priests for the Diocese of Bismarck next summer. Deacons Jacob Degele, Ben Franchuk and Greg Hilzendeger were ordained to the transitional diaconate by Bishop Kagan in May at the Cathedral.

“All of this came about really fast! As Father Josh Waltz and I were talking, this is a similar experience to how I joined the seminary as well. When God wants to do something, He gets things moving,” Nick said.

While he’s had to move up the schedule just a bit, Nick is ready to take on the new role as a deacon.

“As a deacon, I am looking forward to preaching the Word of God,” Nick expressed. “We often forget that the Word of God is a Person, Jesus Christ. We preach Him to the faithful people of God as their salvation. I look forward to sharing with people my own experience of Jesus through my preaching. Jesus is real and He acts in our lives every day.”

Nick and five other diocesan seminarians—Grant Dvorak, Jake Magnuson, Josh Hill, Steven Vetter and Isaiah Fischer—will travel to Rome in early September amid COVID-19 concerns.

“We are still returning to Rome as we have a student visa,” Nick explained. “Students are considered essential travelers in Italy. I return September 3 to begin my last year of formation, which heavily revolves around sacramental formation. I am looking forward to my last year of formation, in particular, being with my brother Steven and the other Bismarck seminarians. They are some of the best seminarians I know. Bismarck fraternity is great and it is a tremendous blessing for all of us.”