Seminarians head back to school

The Bismarck Diocese has been blessed with 22 seminarians studying for the priesthood this academic year. The men are attending four seminaries across the nation and abroad in St. Louis, Denver, Washington, D.C. and at the Pontifical North American College (PNAC) in Rome.

In June, Fathers Mark Aune and Christian Smith were ordained to the holy priesthood by Bishop Kagan. Three new seminarians joined this summer. The new seminarians are Joseph Richter, Charles Reichert and Joe Schon. All are Bismarck natives and alumni of St. Mary’s Central High School.

Richter and Reichert will be entering at the College II level and Schon at College I and all are studying at St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington, D.C. this fall. In addition to these new men, diocesan seminarian Isaiah Jilek will also be studying at JPII Seminary.

Seminarian Konnor Peterson will be attending St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver. Eleven men will be studying at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis including Colton Steiner, Eric Artz, Ryan Martire, John Windsor, Dustin Johns, Ben Wanner, Logan Obrigewitch, Paul Gardner and Deacons Jacob Degele, Ben Franchuk and Greg Hilzendeger.

The diocese will send six men to Rome this year. Those returning will be Deacon Nick Vetter, Grant Dvorak, Jake Magnuson, Josh Hill and Steven Vetter. Seminarian Isaiah Fischer is also attending the PNAC in Rome this year. He is among the three men advancing to major seminary, along with Artz and Steiner.

Amid COVID-19 concerns and restrictions, all the seminarians will be attending classes in person. Those men traveling to and from Rome, according to Diocesan Vocations Director Fr. Jordan Dosch, will be doing so on their travel visa already in place.

Diaconate ordination

Seminarian Deacon Nick Vetter was schedule to be ordained to the transitional diaconate in October. His uncle, Bishop Austin Vetter, of the Diocese of Helena, was scheduled to be the main celebrant for the ordination at the PNAC, where he had served on the faculty years earlier. However, due to the uncertainly surrounding the coronavirus pandemic and international travel, Bishop Kagan ordained Vetter on Aug. 15 at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.

—Staff report