I have called you by name

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine.”
—Isaiah 43:1

The Bismarck Diocese is blessed with 18 seminarians currently studying for the priesthood.

Five of these men, Grant Dvorak, Paul Gardner, Jake Magnuson, Logan Obrigewitch and Ben Wanner, have been ordained to the transitional diaconate, reaching the final stages toward ordination to the holy priesthood. God willing, they will be ordained priests for the diocese this summer by Bishop Kagan at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.

Deacons Paul, Logan and Ben continue their studies at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis. Deacons Grant and Jake are studying in Rome at the Pontifical North American College.

Three men joined these ranks last fall as seminarians for the diocese—one has since discerned out. Wyatt Nagel is studying at St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver, while Ben Weigum is at St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington, D.C.

We introduce you to the two newest men studying to someday be your priest.

Wyatt Nagel, St. Anthony, Linton

Growing up in rural North Dakota on his family farm, Wyatt was fortunate to have great priests as role models at St. Anthony Parish in Linton who helped plant the seed for the priesthood.

Wyatt’s first thoughts of the priesthood came quite early in life after his first Mass as an altar server. The celebrant was Fr. (now Bishop) Austin Vetter who told the congregation that Wyatt had done a great job serving and that one day he’d be in the place where the priest is standing. The thought entered Wyatt’s mind that day but was quickly tucked away as life got busy.

“The priesthood was always something I had a lot of respect for, and I thought was possibly something God was asking me to do,” he said. “The final push that made me enter seminary was I wanted to see if God was asking me to do this so I wouldn’t have to wonder for the rest of my life.”

Fr. David Richter was his parish priest growing up and helped Wyatt see priests as regular guys. Father invited him golfing on occasion and introduced him to diocesan seminarians. He learned through these interactions that priests were men who loved Jesus and devoted their lives to Him. That peaceful, happy life was appealing to Wyatt. He also credits his family for doing a great job showing him how important faith is and making it a priority. 

In high school, he began dating and the priesthood went to the back burner. He enrolled at NDSU in Fargo and had every intention of coming home after graduation and taking over the family farm. Hearing Fr. Josh Waltz’s vocation story when he was in high school was always in the back of his mind. It inspired him to keep going to Mass and confession to stay connected to God. But he soon realized it wasn’t quite close enough. So, he devoted himself to daily Mass and a holy hour twice a week. In adoration, he prayed about life—relationships, jobs, a life after college. Through all this, he heard God asking him not to forget about his faith. Then, he graduated from college and took a job as an agriculture loan officer. Life seemed to be falling perfectly into place. But things weren’t quite right since thoughts of the priesthood were still on his heart. Wyatt felt the time was right to give the seminary a try.

He wanted a sign, like many of us crave when we are faced with a big life decision. But God doesn’t always give us exactly what we want when we want it. The sign Wyatt was seeking came while in adoration. He was praying before Jesus and his thoughts were chaotic. He couldn’t concentrate or focus. So, he moved closer and knelt right in front of Jesus and felt an overwhelming sense of peace. Wyatt refers to it as “crazy peace” and it moved him to tears. The next day he went to confession feeling that his heart was open like never before. He poured everything out in the confessional. The priest, Fr. Jared Johnson, offered to meet with him to help him sort out his thoughts and feelings. This led to an application to the seminary.

“Seminary has been a blessing for me,” Wyatt shared. “There are many challenges but also many graces that God has given me so far. I have been noticing myself growing in my spiritual life as well as a man of God. The two things that I enjoy most about seminary life are the time of growing closer in relationship with God through prayer and growing in knowledge of the faith through the classes.”

He thanked the people of the diocese for their prayers and support. “It is because of your generosity that it is possible for me to discern God’s will and become a better person in the process. I ask for your continued prayers and know of my prayers for all of you.”

Ben Weigum, Saint Anne’s, Bismarck

Ben describes himself as a regular kid who was hyper focused on sports. Thankfully, his parents never gave up on trying to connect him to his faith and parish life. His faith was always important to him, but he’d consider it “pretty average” and, oftentimes, it took a backseat to sports.
“I went to Mass every Sunday and faith formation every Wednesday, but nothing inspired me or internally motivated me to a virtuous life of faith until I was in seventh grade,” Ben explained. “Hearing about the saints in my Faith Formation classes and listening to the word of God drew me to the idea of something greater than myself, and as a sports-loving kid I was drawn in more of a competitive way.”
But it might have been his love for sports that drove him to take a different look at his faith life. “Once the idea of a life of faith was planted in me by the Church, God’s plan for me began to grow as I resonated from the chapel to my day-to-day experiences. I felt a strong desire to follow God’s plan for me in the chapel which always seemed to last, and because I was competitive, there was a strong urge to pray more, just like practicing in a sport to get better. This allowed me to come to the realization that this desire is real and growing,” he said. 
Initially, Ben said he never spent much time learning and thinking about the Church itself or spent much time at Mass. “But the Lord was so deeply urging me to His will,” he said.
This feeling led him to talk about the priesthood with Fr. Sattler, his pastor at the Church of Saint Anne in Bismarck. He’d seen in Fr. Sattler, and consistently in many other priests, a divine focus on God and beyond the worldly things. This caused him to want to model this and humble himself to trust in God’s plan.
“Besides Fr. Sattler, I saw this divine focus on God’s law in Ken Karls, my seventh grade faith formation teacher, who told us many eye-opening stories, which I could relate to, and helped enkindle a disciplinary spark to unite myself with God,” Ben noted. “My parents have also been influential in my decision by always taking me to Mass and praying with me at night even when I did not want to, and they never forced my decision one way or the other.”

His desire to follow God’s plan led him to connect with Fr. Jordan Dosch, the diocesan vocations director. Eventually, Ben said it was as if the seminary application filled itself out; it just felt so right.

His experience thus far at the seminary in Washington, D.C. has been positive.
“What I enjoy most about the seminary is its ability to feed my desire for God by giving me the opportunity to work for something greater than myself in a controlled, trustworthy, and good environment,” Ben said. “It has been wonderful to finally pursue this deep desire which has drawn me away from all my prideful temptations.”
He’s grateful that people throughout the process have been patient about the discernment of his vocation, and in doing so, made God’s plans for him more believable. “I am thankful and even perplexed on how they let someone like me become a part of such a divine mission,” Ben shared. “Every day I am astonished by the path which the diocese has graciously allowed me to take. Something I truly do not deserve.” 

Other seminarians in formation

Please continue to pray for Wyatt and Ben, our five deacons entering the final stages of formation, and all the men following their calling to the priesthood. Other seminarians currently studying for the Bismarck Diocese include: Josh Hill and Steven Vetter at the Pontifical North American College in Rome; Dustin Johns, Eric Artz and Colton Steiner at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis; Isaiah Jilek, Joseph Richter, Charles Reichert and Joe Schon at St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington, D.C. Seminarians Ryan Martire and Isaiah Fischer are spending a pastoral year at Queen of Peace Parish in Dickinson and Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Bismarck respectively.

Please also include in your prayers all the young men and women in our diocese who may be considering a calling to the priesthood or religious life.