This fall, The Saint Paul Seminary will welcome Fr. Joseph Kuharski, Fr. Nels Gjengdahl and Fr. Kevin Manthey — all former high school chaplains — to its team of priestly faculty.
“As our seminary community continues to grow, so does the need for good, holy priests to help form the future leaders of our Church,” Rector Fr. Joseph Taphorn said. “I’m excited to see what Frs. Kuharski, Gjengdahl and Manthey will bring to our community. Their experience, compassion and zeal for accompanying young men and women on their vocational journeys fits perfectly with our crucial work preparing the next generation of joyful, Catholic leaders.”
Kuharski comes to the seminary after serving as a priest formator and spiritual director at Saint John Vianney College Seminary, where he also taught the second-year college seminarians’ Catechism course.
A 2014 graduate of The Saint Paul Seminary and a member of the Companions of Christ priestly fraternity group, Kuharski’s past assignments include St. Stephen’s in Anoka and serving as chaplain of De La Salle High School in Minneapolis. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, Bachelor of Science in business management, Baccalaureate in theology, and a licentiate in sacred theology of marriage & family.
Gjengdahl joins The Saint Paul Seminary faculty after serving at Holy Family Catholic High School in Victoria. He also has been sacramental minister for the parish cluster of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Medina and the Church of Saint Thomas in Corcoran.
Previously, Gjengdahl was pastor of Nativity of Mary Catholic Church in Bloomington and chaplain at St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights. He attended The Saint Paul Seminary and was ordained in 2007.
In addition to joining the priest faculty team, Gjengdahl will serve as dean of men. This will allow current Dean of Men Fr. Evan Koop to devote more time to his academic teaching and formation roles.
A member of the Vatican-approved Emmanuel Community, an international public association of the faithful, Fr. Manthey comes to us after serving for the past three years as associate pastor at Saint Thomas Aquinas parish in Quebec City, Quebec. Before that, he served as chaplain at Hill-Murray School in Maplewood and as sacramental minister to the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Saint Paul.
He is an alumnus of The Saint Paul Seminary and was ordained in 2014.