ST. ALEXIUS - OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS - ST. PAUL’S
Sauk Centre Welcomes B O
Fr. Jeremy Theis celebrating Mass at the altar where St. John Paul II celebrated his first Mass
ver the last few months, you have likely seen a familiar smiling face here at our Sauk Centre parishes. We are thrilled to welcome Fr. Jeremy Theis back to the area as our new Associate Pastor! Fr. Theis has been assigned to our area before, serving us from 2014 to 2016. His return marks a happy homecoming to our three cluster parishes, as well as an exciting new welcome to the other three parishes in our Area Catholic Community. Fr. Theis and his seven siblings were raised in a small town by devoutly Catholic parents. The family prayed a Rosary together each night after dinner, and Fr. Theis still remembers the prayer group meetings his parents attended weekly. He joined the Army at age 17 and later went to college to become a teacher. After teaching junior high geography and world cultures in Willmar for six years, Fr. Theis became Dean of Students. He remained in that role until his call to the seminary four years later. Reflecting on his path to the priesthood, Fr. Theis marvels at how quickly he discerned his vocation in the Church. It all began when he was dating an evangelical Christian who called his Catholic faith into question, inspiring Fr. Theis to learn as much as he could about the faith in order to better defend it. Not long after, in November 2007, Fr. Theis experienced a truly revelatory moment. “There was a ‘light switch moment’ when I went from wanting to marry a nice Catholic girl to knowing I was called to seminary,” he says. “It was something that my grandmother had said to me, and in that moment, it was an instant feeling of peace. I had never even thought
“I love to preach and teach. Just like anybody who teaches knows, the big picture is when you’re watching those ‘ah-ha’ moments where it clicks for people, where the faith makes sense and it becomes a real thing in their lives. It’s usually a Holy Spirit moment that someone has through a confession or an adoration-related event. That especially happens with kids.” — Fr. Jeremy Theis 4
