THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

The Magnificent 7. When most people hear this phrase, multiple movies come to mind about seven men who are brought together to protect a community. This isn’t far from the truth when it comes to the men who we call The Magnificent 7. After four years of no priest ordinations, these seven men were ordained into the priesthood together protecting not only our community, but our souls.

We had the privilege to sit down with five of the seven magnificent priests, discover their call to the priesthood, understand their connections to O’Gorman, and gain insight to the need and hope for the future. Let us introduce you to the incredible ordination class of 1976: Father Thomas Heck, Father Michael Kelly, Father John Lantsberger, Father Michael Wensing, Father James Zimmer, Father Kenneth Koster, and Archbishop Thomas Gullickson.

A few priests spoke about their call to the priesthood where freedom of decision was a huge factor. Fr. Tom Heck remembers being attracted to the priesthood around fourth grade. His parents were supportive, but not encouraging. They dropped him off at the Minor Seminary, which resided in the current O’Gorman Junior High building, and told him, “We’ll pick you up when you change your mind.” “That was the freedom I needed, I wasn’t doing it for them,” he recalls. Fr. John Lantsberger’s call to the priesthood started very early for him as well. His family was very supportive and faith-filled which planted a seed that had some space to grow and flourish. His parents told him he didn’t have to go to seminary if he thought he would be homesick. With this, he says he was given the freedom to make his own decision. Fr. Zimmer’s parents supported his exploration of the priesthood, but never pressured him. “What they wanted most was for me to be happy, to make a contribution to the world,” he recalls. Throughout his whole journey, he says, “I’ve felt pressured when I focus on myself - how I’m doing, am I meeting people’s expectations? That makes one burdened. When I notice the face of God and wonder at the beauty and mystery of life, I am free.”

Beyond seminary, a few of these priests have deeper ties to O’G. Fr. Heck, Fr. Wensing, Fr. Lantsberger, and Archbishop Gullickson all taught Religion at O’Gorman High School after they were ordained. Fr. Zimmer would hear confessions and offer Mass from time to time. Archbishop Gullickson taught Latin. Even though Fr. Kelly did not graduate from O’Gorman seminary, as it wasn’t open yet, he took a two-year break from seminary to teach and coach at O’Gorman High School. You’d be hard pressed to find a sporting event at O’G where Fr. Kelly is not in attendance. He blames Monsignor McEneaney who told him that’s where the people are and where his presence is needed. “Go to the events! They ask for you when you are not there!” When Fr. Kelly retired in 2019, he moved to Sioux Falls because of his connection with O’Gorman, the staff and faculty. Laughing, he says, “This is a little bit of a confession…before retirement, the church dictated my schedule and when I could be at sporting events and now, sporting events MAY dictate my church schedule!” Fr. Kelly is at as many sporting events as possible including traveling with the teams and is usually seen with his sidekick, Fr. Cimpl.

The Magnificent 7 all retired during COVID-19 which made the adjustment to being alone during retirement more difficult. Now that the world is back to normal, most are finding a good balance of spending time with family and filling in for priests at various Masses. Archbishop Gullickson says, “One of the hardest parts of retirement is that I’ve had to learn to say no to all the substitution requests in Sioux Falls because there are so many opportunities to say yes.” Fr. Heck retired in Florida, where he had been a priest the last 18 years of active assignment, working with funeral homes by helping those who have fallen away from their Catholic faith. He has found that when people lose those they love, they are searching for their faith to cope during those difficult times. He says, “I find it enriching to let those families know that they can still be part of the church.” Fr. Zimmer comments that, “It’s strange being a ‘retired’ priest, because I am always and forever a priest.” However, he is loving living on the farm in Humboldt where he grew up. Fr. Koster has finally returned to the family acreage to be closer to his sisters. “I love spending my weekdays at home and my weekends filling in at the parishes. It’s a perfect balance for me.”

Before their ordination in 1976, there was concern going four years without an ordination even with 150 active priests. In 2023, two years without an ordination, we have 81 active priests and 24 retired priests, and in ten years, it will be even less. We can relate to this concern and true need of growth with the structural and pastoral planning process, called “Set Ablaze”, happening right now in the Diocese of Sioux Falls. As a priest today, you are the superintendent, administrator, CFO, development director, and plant manager. The hope is that “Set Ablaze” will allow priests to be freed of these extra duties so they can be more present to families. As a group, they were all in agreement with Fr. Heck, “What attracted us to the priesthood was not what the priesthood was really about, but the personal presence of a priest!” Fr. Koster remembers the nuns being a huge influence on him as young as elementary school. Several priests and nuns at O’Gorman were their teachers when they were in seminary. There were enough priests at that time to also be on faculty at the school so students had that every day presence. Early in their teaching careers at O’Gorman, they recall having as many as four daily Masses in the high school.

There’s a strong desire at Bishop O’Gorman Catholic Schools to do our part in helping with this mission of growth and the presence of priests, sisters, and brothers in our schools is a big part of that. The Magnificent 7 are firm believers that having priests in the schools help make priesthood more attractive to the kids. Fr. Kelly said, “It allows them to see that a priest can live a normal life. Religious life in the schools can also make an impact on the kids and it helps our credibility grow with the parents and staff when they see that a priest is doing some of the same things that teachers are doing.”

Fr. Kelly gave an example of how Fr. Doty at St. Mary Parish would go to lunch and stand at the front of the line so he could get to know the kids by name. He would attend different activities and play the trumpet at basketball games with the band. “I can imagine some of the kids are saying, I want to be like him. He’s having fun!” The Magnificent 7 see priests play basketball, soccer, and other sports with students as well as help coach. Priests are playing out on the playground with the elementary kids during recess and visiting classrooms throughout the day. Fr. Wensing shares a personal story about presence and its effect on students. A senior volleyball player told him that once she was confirmed, “that was it.” She said she wasn’t going to continue to go to catechism. After seeing Fr. Wensing attend a couple volleyball games, she said to him, “If you can come to volleyball, then I can spend one hour a week at catechism.”

Fr. Lantsberger reminded us that it’s not just the school’s job to help students grow spiritually, “Presence is important in the schools but it must be connected to the parish life through families.” Archbishop Gullickson shares how the family needs to be the foundation to our Catholic faith. “We see students going to Mass at school but not always on the weekend. This is causing kids to fall away. We have to keep these things connected. Parents have to get their kids to church on the weekend to build real faith…Whether the kids are going to persevere in their faith or fall away depends an awful lot on the parents. If there’s not a witness of faith at home, if there’s not belief, it’s just not going to happen.”

Small things can make large impressions when it comes to faith. The Magnificent 7 share what their families did growing up that had a lasting effect on their faith life. Fr. Lantsberger’s father would tip his hat to the church every time they drove by on main street in Watertown in acknowledgment of the Eucharist; Fr. Heck’s family would make the sign of the cross each time they passed the church; Fr. Wensing’s family would stop to light a candle. Fr. Heck adds, “Priests can be present and that’s great, but it’s not all about us encouraging vocations. It’s really the role of the laity (parents), which they share with the priests.”

We asked The Magnificent 7 how we can encourage people to follow the calling to priesthood or religious life. Their response was unanimous. If you are on the fence about whether or not religious life is for you, even the slightest thought, they would tell you to “come and see” as that’s what Jesus said to the apostles. “The human aspect is very valuable, but ultimately it is the grace of God,” says Archbishop Gullickson. With the internet and other distractions being so powerful, grace has to be more powerful now than it has ever been. “That’s what makes grace so astounding,” adds Fr. Wensing.

The Magnificent 7 recognizes that it’s taking more time for students to develop their faith life and decide their future and that’s why continued presence of the religious orders in our students’ lives is so important. Some kids attend church regularly, some are active and are participating in prayer services and scripture studies, others are putting time and effort into service. Each student expresses their faith differently. Fr. Wensing recalls a friend telling him that the back pew in church wasn’t far enough away and now he’s a priest. He says, “You never know when that flip is going to happen.” Fr. Kelly reminds us that, “We can trust that God has given young people the gift of faith at all different levels. Put trust in God that your children will get there.”

Fr. Koster sums it up perfectly when he says, “I can proudly say, we did what was needed from us. Just a group of young men, from priests to Archbishops, we were pretty extraordinary! We are so lucky to be Catholics!”

We were incredibly grateful to sit down with this group of priests who truly are magnificent.