I am thrilled to introduce myself as the new pastor of St.
Matthias parish. Having been a priest for 32 years, I have “been
around the block” and have done a wide variety of ministries. I
grew up in the city of Muskego. We belonged to Sacred Hearts
Parish (now St. Martin of Tours, Franklin) until I was in 7th grade.
We then moved and switched to St. Leonard Parish. I attended
Muskego High School, Cardinal Stritch College and then entered
St. Francis de Sales Seminary.
I was ordained to the priesthood on May 18, 1990 and was
assigned to St. Alphonsus, Greendale, where I served for five
years. Next, I served at Divine Savior Holy Angels High School for
seven years before being tapped to serve as the priest-secretary
for Archbishop (now Cardinal) Timothy Dolan. In 2007 I became
the pastor of St. Monica parish in Whitefish Bay and the
following year I also became the pastor of St. Eugene parish in
Fox Point. After ten wonderful years as a pastor, I returned to
work at the Archdiocese as the Vicar for Clergy, which I have
been doing for the past five years.
Archbishop Listecki appointed me to be the pastor of St.
Matthias beginning August 1, 2022, but has also asked me to
continue in my role as Vicar for Clergy for a bit longer. I am very
excited to be serving as your pastor, but I would ask for your
patience. Because I will be doing double duty for a while, I will
not be able to be as active as I would hope to be at St. Matthias.
I have a lot to learn, I have many people to meet and I will do
my best to fulfill the demands of being a pastor with my limited
availability.
I am very grateful to Deacon Stan Lowe, Father Chuck Schramm
and Father Dave Cooper for their willingness to continue to help
at St. Matthias. I have been meeting with each of the staff
members, learning how things work at our parish. I look forward
to meeting each of you, but please repeat your name to me
multiple times. I will do my best to remember, but there is only
one of me and thousands of you, the parishioners of St.
Matthias that I need to get to know. With God’s help, I look
forward to serving as your pastor for many years to come.