News

Pastor finds wonderful life as priest, in parish

Priesthood Sunday is Oct. 30

By Joanne Flemming
Compass Correspondent

	BEING PRESENT: Fr. Tom Farrell visits with Ed and Del Kaiser and their granddaughters Anna and Carrie Schwartz after weekday Mass at St. Pius X in Appleton. (Rick Evans photo)
	Celebrating priests Priesthood Sunday is a day set aside to show support for priests with prayer, celebration and dialogue. The USA Council of Serra International in Chicago, a lay group that promotes vocations to the priesthood and religious life, coordinates Priesthood Sunday. The day was established in 2003 to express appreciation to priests in light of recent negative attention in the media and their increased workloads caused by the declining number of priests. "For 70 years, Serra has been committed to supporting and affirming the Catholic priesthood," Don DeDecker, council president, said in a statement. "We are honored to handle this event and I see it as a way of sharing our mission with the nation in a celebratory way." Fr. Robert Silva, president of the National Federation of Priests' Councils, said the purpose of Priesthood Sunday is "to engage every level of the church in the United States in a national conversation about the priesthood." Suggested liturgies, social celebrations, reflections and downloadable graphics, guides and posters are available online at www.priestsunday.org.

APPLETON -- For Fr. Thomas Farrell, pastor of St. Pius X Parish, Appleton, his priesthood is "the wonderful life."

"I think it's a wonderful way to live.... I can't imagine doing anything else," said Fr. Farrell, who has been pastor at St. Pius since July 1 after nearly five years as pastor at Ss. Peter and Paul, Green Bay.

Achieving his vocation took Fr. Farrell longer than it takes most priests. He was in his late 30s when Bp. Robert Banks ordained him in 1992.

He first thought about the priesthood "as a little kid." Two priests he knew then inspired him - Fr. Norbert Verhagen, a cousin who served as a missionary in Mexico, and Fr. Alfred Hietpas, his pastor at St. Nicholas Parish, Freedom. He recalled his cousin showing him slides of his mission work each summer.

Fr. Farrell attended high school two years at the former Sacred Heart Seminary in Oneida. He returned to his family at Wrightstown to complete high school, then went to work at Prangeway, then at Rich's Bakery in Appleton, where he remained for 10 years.

A turning point in his life came one day when he saw people going to daily Mass at St. Joseph Church in Appleton. He asked himself, "What is it they see that they have to go everyday?"

So he followed them into church. The priest celebrating the liturgy showed "a great love for his faith and his priesthood. I thought 'Wow.' It just struck me," Fr. Farrell said.

He kept going to daily Mass. At one point, he was working the 3 to 11 shift in Appleton, driving back to Wrightstown, getting up early and driving back to Appleton for Mass. While there were closer parishes, he went to St. Joseph because he liked it so well.

He remembered one morning asking himself why he made this 17-mile drive. "I thought wouldn't it be nice if I could just be a priest ... I could just have Mass and be there for the people."

That, in turn leads, he said, to each parish becoming family for the priest serving there, Fr. Farrell said. That was why he had difficulties leaving Ss. Peter and Paul, Green Bay, for St. Pius. "You really do feel like you're a family. You know each other; you're there for each other through struggles and difficulties. That's why it's hard for a priest to move."

At the same time, he said, he could see the wisdom in priests making periodic moves. "It's healthy growth. It's moving on to a new family."

Family, especially his parents' praying St. Brigid's reflections on Christ's suffering, were perhaps the greatest influence on him. Fr. Farrell said they had promised to say those prayers daily for a year. Whenever he visited, he found them praying. About 10 days after they started, he joined them.

"Those prayers made me have a greater love for the Lord," he said.

Fr. Farrell said he thought about entering a religious order before talking to the Green Bay Diocese's vocations director. Since several years had passed since high school, he attended Silver Lake College, Manitowoc, for a year to see if he could handle academics again. From there, he went to St. Mary Seminary, Baltimore, which had a six-year program that allowed him to complete his bachelor's degree as well as his studies for the priesthood.

After ordination, he was assigned to St. Bernard Parish, Appleton, where Fr. Orville Janssen was pastor. "He was a great mentor and a great teacher. He loved his priesthood," Fr. Farrell said.

Fr. Janssen also taught him two major lessons in four years, Fr. Farrell said:

• The importance of presence, "being available to the people." Fr. Farrell remembered one day telling Fr. Janssen he wanted to return to the rectory to do some work. Fr. Janssen emphasized the need to stay in the office even when not busy there. "People may need to walk in and need to see you," he told Fr. Farrell. "Being there (can make) all the difference in the world."

• Allow room for the Holy Spirit. As a new priest, Fr. Farrell wrote out his homilies and "never moved from the script" when he preached. Fr. Janssen told him, "You have to allow for the Holy Spirit to touch your heart in some way. You have to allow the Holy Spirit to direct you.

Since then, Fr. Farrell said, he prays to the Holy Spirit beforehand even when he is prepared. "I think the Holy Spirit needs to be so much a part of our lives," he added.

After more than a decade since his ordination, Fr. Farrell said he has his own reflections on his priesthood:

• Be available to people. "Sometimes if you're just there for them or walking with them through some difficulty.... At the end they are telling you exactly what they thought you could tell them," he said.

• Working before entering seminary gave him a different perspective on life. "I know what it was to struggle to make money, to make house and car payments, have relationships with other people and be in the work setting. It really helped me be prepared. Now when people talk about their struggles or when they are unable to make ends meet, I know exactly what they are talking about."

• Find joy in the priesthood. "If they don't see you joy-filled, who is going to want that?" he asked.

• Participate in the sacraments as well as minister them to others. "If I preach reconciliation, the importance of the Eucharist, then we need to be living them," Fr. Farrell said. Telling other people to be like Christ is easy, the hard part is challenging himself to live the same way, he added.

• Prayer is enmeshed in his life. He starts each morning with his breviary. Reflecting on those readings help define his day.

There are days, he said, when he has to say, "Lord, you have to help me. If I thought for a minute I was in this alone, I would not be happy as a priest."

He also has advice for men considering the priesthood: "Definitely go ahead and take the chance. If you have an inkling that God may be calling you, go for it. You can never lose when giving your life for the Lord."

Fr. Farrell also served parishes in Shawano, Casco and Green Bay.