Meet our seminarians

Even though our diocese may be comparably small in size, we are clearly not “small” in faith, fervor, or commitment to Jesus Christ.
 
This is evident by the fact that we have been blessed with 28 dedicated seminarians pursuing the priesthood. Each one of them gives us an outstanding example of zeal and faith as they put the love of God and others at the forefront of their daily lives. Their journeys are unique and inspiring, and testify to what it means to be, as St. Therese of Lisieux said, “love” in the heart of the Church.
 
Here we learn from three of our seminarians what it means to embody that love in the heart of the Church.
           
Seminarian Matthew Koppinger shares that he first sensed he had a priestly vocation when he was just a boy.
           
“I have felt called to the priesthood since I was very young,” he said. “I always experienced great peace around the celebration of the Mass; my time as an altar server was especially moving. When I was in the CCD program at my home parish of St. Anne's in Bismarck, both my sixth grade teacher and my seventh grade teachers asked me if I had ever thought about priesthood. These were definite pushes in the right direction.”
           
Following these nudges of encouragement, Matthew gained even more inspiration from many faithful people God put in his path, proving the powerful effect that a Catholic family and educational environment can have on a young person.
           
“What really enabled my faith to grow was the time I spent at St. Mary's Central High School,” Matthew said. “There, I found a group of life-long friends that I knew I could rely on, and we allowed each other to grow in holiness. My education was great as well, and exposed me to a rigorous exploration of Catholicism. My teachers had a big impact on me, especially Mr. Michael Rubblekee, who taught me about the Old and New Testaments. And, it helped immensely that my parents said they would support me whether I decided to enter the seminary or not.”
           
In addition to enjoying his studies as a seminarian currently at St. John Vianney Seminary in St. Paul, Matthew continues to grow as a disciple of Christ in profound ways. 
           
“First, I have begun to learn how to pray and bring my joys, sorrows, and struggles to Jesus,” Matthew commented. “Being able to form life-long friendships with my brother seminarians and learning to interact with people who are clearly different than me has been so helpful. Your person expands in a way, your worldview broadens, and you start to appreciate the various talents and abilities that God has given to every individual.”
           
Seminarian Ben Franchuck, currently studying at St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver, has also found that living in community with other men pursuing the priesthood has helped him grow as a person.
           
“It has been a blessing to live in a community with guys that know they are not perfect, but are striving to do the will of God in everything, and encourage the other men they live with to do the same,” Ben said. “I have also enjoyed realizing how God created me just as I am, and developing that person within the will of God and the formation of the Church. I always have and always will enjoy doing manual labor, farming, hunting, and being outdoors. That is who I am whether I am a seminarian, a priest, or a lay person.”
           
Looking back, Ben sees that the ability to enter the seminary was a true blessing from the hand of God.
           
“I honestly did not feel called until one night, as I was struggling with life in general, I was talking to a friend and I told them I was thinking about the priesthood,” Ben explained. “After that, I started to think about it more seriously and realized through prayer that God was calling me to the priesthood. After that moment, God spread his grace around me by giving me the gift to move from Illinois back to Dickinson with a full-time engineering job knowing that I would be leaving for seminary in the fall.”
           
Christian Smith is another seminarian who was touched by the Catholic faith shown to him by those who cared about him the most.
           
“I first felt called to be a priest in middle school when I noticed I had a love for our faith. I felt a deep truth in things like the history of the Church, Catholic moral teaching, and the lives of the saints. I thought that these kinds of topics could really help people, and since I enjoyed them, it would make me happy to share about them,” he shared. “I think the biggest influences in my discernment were my parents as well as the male teachers I had at St. Mary's Central High School who taught me how to be passionate about something, and that being faithful doesn't mean being weird.”
           
He is also an example of a young man who felt the unspeakable power of God's call through the Scriptures.
           
“One of the deciding moments came when, towards the end of my time at St. Mary's, I was about to pray the Liturgy of the Hours and I asked God what I should do with my life,” Christian explained. “I didn't know where I wanted to go for college. So, I started praying, and the first Psalm was Psalm 110 which says, 'I have sworn an oath I will not change; you are a priest forever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.' It was such a powerful and clear moment for me, and I don't think I will ever forget the feeling. I knew implicitly that I had to go to seminary, but I just couldn't get myself to do it yet.”
           
So, interestingly, after going to the University of Mary and studying Theology for a while, he was struck again by the same reading–this time in an even more concrete way.
           
“The impact of this Psalm just wouldn't go away,” he said. “After I had been in college for a while, Psalm 110 hit me out of nowhere exactly in the same way as before, and I had the same feeling. That was when I knew that it was finally time to go to the seminary.”
           
Now as a seminarian studying at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Christian continues to find great joy and peace, especially knowing he is doing God's perfect will and walking right alongside others who are doing the same.
           
“The one thing I enjoy most is living with my brother seminarians. Naturally, having so many men in one house has its challenges of which I’ll spare the details, but there is always someone to whom I can talk out my problems or play music or sports and the like. There's never a dull day in the seminary. It is such a privilege to study with men from around the country (and even the world) who are amazingly gifted to begin with, and are also great examples of holiness. I'd be hard pressed to find a better group of guys anywhere!”
 
About our seminarians
 
Matthew, Ben and Christian are among the 28 men currently studying for the priesthood at seminaries in St. Louis, Denver, St. Paul and Washington, D.C., as well as in Rome.
 
Seminarians Greg Luger and Jordan Dosch, have been ordained to the transitional diaconate and are set to be ordained to the holy priesthood for the diocese in May 2017.
 
Those studying in Rome include: Jordan Dosch, Jarad Wolf, Brandon Wolf, Gregory Crane, Scott Lefor and Dominic Bouck. Seminarians Greg Luger and Mark Aune are attending Kenrick-Glennon in St. Louis. Those studying in Denver are Greg Hilzendeger, Paul Gardner, Anthony Dukart, Joseph Golik, Josh Hill, Lucas DeMers, Dustin Johns, and Steven Vetter.
 
Ryan Martire, Nick Vetter, Grant Dvorak, Jake Magnuson, and John Windsor are currently studying at St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington, D.C. While Jacob Degele, Logan Obrigewitch, Jacob Bennett, and Benjamin Wanner are attending formation classes in St. Paul.