Thriving Faith

A CALL TO CULTIVATE A THRIVING FAITH

By: Sue Krings and Shannan Hartel ‘15

From Chicago to Battle Creek and beyond, Father Jim Jugenheimer moved around frequently as a child. Despite many relocations, one aspect that has not changed has been his call to faith.

Father Jim’s first hint of his future priesthood began when he was an infant and his grandmother held him in her arms. “He will be a priest someday!” she said with enthusiasm. Later, another nudge into priesthood came when he worked in a factory for a year before college. At the time, his future was still unknown. Father Jim wrote to different religious orders that he found listed in Catholic Digest. Amazingly, a monastery in Philadelphia answered and welcomed him. For two years, he stayed there, dedicating his time as a monk, trying to decipher what God wanted for him.

Soon after, he began to teach religion at a Catholic high school in Philadelphia and began a service period teaching media classes. Together with his students, he was in charge of a live TV show that aired for fifteen minutes during homeroom each day. The responsibility included making sets and putting together blue screens; Father Jim made sure to encourage his students to be hands on. During his twelve years of teaching, he taught his students the ins and outs of media production well. (During the pandemic, his knowledge was brought to a new level.)

Drawing on experience, Fr. Jim used the equipment that he brought with him to celebrate virtual Masses while we were quarantined at home. For the span of the difficult months, his expertise and technological aptitude are what created the virtual Masses, helping many get closer to Jesus.

In 2003, after his service to teaching, he spoke to his bishop about returning to Wisconsin, where he hoped to be closer to family. He relocated to Manitowoc county, where he served in two parishes. Father Jim then moved to Oshkosh where he had to merge three parishes into one. He spent ten years there before moving to St. Pius X, where he remains today.

Along with being a priest, Father Jim enjoys gardening, which is evident through his giant vegetable garden outside of the rectory. Spending time at his cottage is also special for him, as he dedicated many hours of labor to build it himself.

Naturally, his faith also remains an intricate part of his day as is giving advice to those on their faith journeys. Father Jim encourages those considering a religious life and those who are unsure what their next path should be to really get to know Jesus. “Enter into a real relationship with him...Jesus is our closest friend,” he said. “By really getting to know Jesus, it’s not about the facts,” he said, “it’s about having that conversation with Jesus and having Him in our life constantly.” After 34 years as a priest, his most important piece of advice was to make every decision in a way to give honor to Jesus.