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January 8, 2018Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of feature stories about the lives and careers of our diocesan priests before they answered the call to their true vocation—proving that God calls from all walks of life.
Father Fred Harvey, pastor of Little Flower Church in Minot has made a career of convicting people, first through the law and now through the light of Jesus Christ.
As a Deputy U.S. Marshal for eight-and-a-half years, Harvey used to track down criminals. “Anyone wanted on a federal charge, we arrested and put them in custody,” he explained. It was no small game of cat and mouse. The fugitives included bond jumpers, high profile white supremacists, drug runners working for drug cartels, and high profile money launders which included Charles Keating.
“At times, it was very dangerous and I took different routes to work because some of those people knew too much,” he said. Even now, many years later, he does not want to talk specifics. Hardened criminals have long memories.
But, not everything was drama. For instance, transporting U.S. Supreme Court justices was easy. After providing protective transport for Justice William Renquist to a hearing in Denver, the judge would ask for Harvey by name when he was in town for a hearing.
Discontent grows
Life as a U.S. marshal was exciting although hectic and tense, but Harvey began longing for something more. Tracking down bad guys was good for the safety of American citizens, but what of the souls and well-being of this troubled population? Such concerns were not part of the job description, however, or even allowed.
The first flicker of discontent began when Harvey watched juveniles from Mexico trying to help their families, end up facing severe penalties. “They were basically kids being asked to carry backpacks across the border being told, ‘We’ll give you this money if you do that.’ They’d get caught and spend years in juvenile detention centers,” Harvey explained. “It was a huge struggle for me, especially dealing with kids from troubled homes.”
Having come from a stable home, Harvey knew what a difference that made. He grew up in Bismarck with loving Catholic parents, Bob and Donna Harvey, parishioners of Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. His father had been the Burleigh County sheriff for 28 years.
After graduating with a degree in criminal justice from Minot State University, Harvey began working for the Department of Justice as a U.S. Marshal in Denver, Colorado and then later in Tucson, Arizona. It seemed to be a good fit. He bought a house in Tuscan, was dating, and was on track for a promotion. Yet, something was missing.
True calling begins to surface
Harvey began volunteering to help with the high school youth group at his parish, Our Lady of Sorrows. “Even though I’d be tired from a long day of work, after being with the kids, I’d find myself with more energy than when I arrived,” he said. “I found that doing things for other people was what gave Him the greatest amount of satisfaction.”
The youth group kids started calling Harvey “Father” and other youth leaders told him it seemed like he should be a priest. The attraction to the priesthood began to grow despite contradicting his original plan to get a master’s degree, retire after 20 years, and then go teach some of the street smarts at universities.
During this time, a friendship grew between Harvey and the associate pastor Fr. Rudy. They were around the same age and enjoyed activities such as golfing and going to the movies. Over dinner one evening, after Harvey shared this experience, Fr. Rudy suggested the possibility that he was being called to the priesthood. “He advised me to pray about what I should do,” Harvey said. “I began going to adoration and God started speaking to me.” The call got stronger.
More months passed. A family reunion to Bismarck, a day of recollection back in Tuscan, a strained relationship with his girlfriend and hassles at work, kept the momentum of his discernment going. Harvey finally gave a call to Msgr. Gerald Walsh, the Bismarck Diocese Vocation Director at the time. Coincidentally, Msgr. Walsh had a trip planned to Tuscan, so they met there in the fall of 1993.
As he continued to pray and discern, Harvey was drawn more and more to the idea of the priesthood, yet he still had a foot in two worlds. He had put in an application for the seminary, but had also applied for a promotion in the marshal’s office in Bismarck and became one of the top three candidates. Harvey said he started to get cold feet regarding the priesthood.
Call becomes clear
“One day, after a rough day, I went to adoration,” he said. “The next morning, I got up and a voice in my head said, ‘Today is the day you are selling your house. Let’s go!’”
Harvey called that day to list his house. Within the same hour, he learned that he did not get the job in Bismarck. Within a week, without even a sign in his yard, he accepted an offer on his house. It was February of 1994 by then.
Still not having heard from the Bishop’s office in Bismarck, Harvey gave notice at his job that May 15 would be his last day. He packed up and moved to Bismarck and met with Bishop John Kinney the next day. The bishop informed him that he was accepted.
Priest for 17 years
From that point on, Harvey said that he never looked back. “It always felt right,” he said. For the next six years, he attended seminary at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio and was ordained on May 25, 2000.
“It was rather surreal,” he said. “I did not know how it was going to unfold. There was an uncertainty. What will God do with me next? How will my past play into my future? He said there was also a great sense of excitement and trust that God would direct everything. For 17 years of priestly ministry now, Harvey said that is what God has done. He has served in Williston, Mohall, Sherwood, and Lansford and the last 12 years in Minot as pastor of Little Flower Church.
“I am the chaplain with the police and sheriff’s office and highway patrol and I’ve helped with the fire department also, so there is still a connection with law enforcement,” Harvey said.
“It’s gone by fast,” according to him. “I’m still in touch with friends from the marshal’s office and many of them are retiring now. I’ll be 55 in January.”
While working with the government, Harvey saw how the good and the bad played out so it has helped him to apply that to help guide people in better directions. “I can see their needs and look for ways they can be helped, both in the community and spiritually,” he said.
Although Harvey works to help people and lead them closer to Christ through the Church, he’s also learned a lot about the faith as he’s witnessed young people who fought battles against illness then accepted death and people who suffer greatly yet still come to church.
“They have taught me and shown me that often, many of my own difficulties are small compared to what they are carrying.”