Ordinations across five dioceses this spring mark the culmination of years of formation and the beginning of a life consecrated to Christ and His Church.
Briefly
- Twelve seminarians formed at The Saint Paul Seminary will be ordained priests across five dioceses this spring and summer.
- Priestly ordination permanently configures a man to Christ, enabling him to act in His person through the sacraments.
- For Catholics, these ordinations serve as public signs of hope and renewal for the Church in the Upper Midwest and beyond.
In Catholic churches across the Upper Midwest and the East Coast, the faithful will soon witness a profound moment in the life of the Church: the ordination of men to the priesthood. For the seminarians who have spent years in formation at The Saint Paul Seminary, these Masses of Ordination mark the joyful culmination of a journey marked by prayer, discernment, study and service.
Yet for a priest, ordination is not an ending — it’s a beginning. The Catholic Churches believes a priest is a man set apart for the sacred, chosen to bring Christ to the world through the sacraments, to preach the Gospel with boldness and to shepherd the people of God with humility and love.
What is priestly ordination?
The Sacrament of Holy Orders is one of the Church’s seven sacraments, uniquely configuring the ordained to Christ Himself. Through a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the priest is permanently marked with an indelible spiritual character that enables him to act in persona Christi — “in the person of Christ.”
This transformation is not merely symbolic. The priest receives divine authority to celebrate the Eucharist, forgive sin, and administer the other sacraments. He becomes a co-worker with the bishop, a shepherd of souls and a spiritual father to the people of God.
2025 priestly ordinations
Below is a schedule of ordination Masses for men formed at The Saint Paul Seminary.
Diocese of Sioux Falls
Thursday, May 29 | 11 a.m.
Cathedral of St. Joseph, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Deacon Gerald (J.P.) Thornton
Diocese of Winona-Rochester
Friday, May 30 | 2 p.m.
Basilica of Saint Stanislaus Kostka, Winona, Minnesota
Deacon Benjamin Peters
Deacon Timothy Welch
Deacon Jordan Danielson
Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis
Saturday, May 31 | 10 a.m.
Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul, Minnesota
Deacon Benjamin Eichten
Deacon Zachary Ochsenbauer
Deacon Randall Skeate
Deacon Alexander Marquette
Diocese of St. Cloud
Saturday, June 7 | 10:30 a.m.
St. Mary’s Cathedral, St. Cloud, Minnesota
Deacon Joseph VanDenheuvel
Deacon Nathaniel Daubner
Archdiocese of Hartford
Saturday, June 21 | 11 a.m. (ET)
Cathedral of St. Joseph, Hartford, Connecticut
Deacon Mitchell Kendrioski
Deacon Martin Chouinard