After losing his mother at age 6, Fr. Zachary Ochsenbauer found solace in the Catholic faith. Years later, that early experience of grief and devotion would shape his path to the priesthood.
Briefly
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At his First Holy Communion, Fr. Zachary Ochsenbauer was told his late mother would be present with him in spirit, an idea that fostered a lasting belief in Christ’s presence in the Eucharist.
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Ochsenbauer first sensed a call to the priesthood during quiet prayer in high school and, with support from his father and parish priests, chose to enter seminary after graduation.
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Ordained in May, Ochsenbauer describes his path to ministry as one of gradual formation and quiet conviction, centered on a desire to share God’s mercy with others.
In the pews of St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Forest Lake, Minnesota, 6-year-old Zachary Ochsenbauer received a reminder from his grieving father, Tom: when Zac would receive his First Holy Communion, his mother, who had passed into eternity, would be there with him.
That moment, and the lifetime of Eucharistic devotion it ushered in, became a foundation for Ochsenbauer’s vocation to the priesthood, he says.
Fr. Ochsenbauer, who was ordained May 31 for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, speaks of his mother’s death not as a void, but as a place where Jesus made Himself known.
“It was a beautiful encounter with God’s grace,” he recalls. “I still remember the experience of receiving my first communion with the conviction that Christ is here, He’s present, He’s in me.”
The oldest of three children in a devout Catholic household where rosaries were prayed frequently and adoration was attended faithfully, Ochsenbauer says his early years were steeped in devotion. His father, a Delta Airlines pilot — who flew Ochsenbauer and his classmates on their international flight to Rome in 2023 — met his wife in flight school.
“I gave it a shot, and I never stopped.” — Fr. Zachary Ochsenbauer, Saint Paul Seminary Class of 2025
After her death, Tom anchored the family in prayer and faith, Ochsenbauer said.
The thought of the priesthood came unexpectedly and quietly while Ochsenabuer was praying the rosary in ninth grade.
“It wasn’t something I wanted,” he admits, “so I knew it wasn’t from me.”
Fear and uncertainty followed, but so did obedience. Encouraged by his father and parish priests, Ochsenbauer entered college seminary after high school.
“I gave it a shot,” said Ochsenbauer, who like his father knows how to fly an airplane, “and I never stopped.”
The night after he was ordained, Ochsenbauer heard his first confessions, a task he said both excited and unnerved him.
“If I’m not ready now, when will I be?” he said with a laugh.
He spent his final days at The Saint Paul Seminary preparing his first Mass, practicing with flashcards and rehearsing the rite. But Ochsenbauer’s real preparation has been years in the making.
“I’m really excited to be able to share [God’s mercy] with others,” he said.