The ‘many hats’ of a diocesan priest!

Fr. Todd Petersen talks about his vocation journey

by Chris Clancy, co-editor

The Prairie Catholic

Generally speaking, Fr. Todd Petersen wears many hats! He is not only the pastor of three parishes and one oratory in the New Ulm diocese (St. Brendan, Green Isle; St. John-Assumption, Faxon Township; St. Joseph, Henderson; and St. Thomas, Jessenland), he also serves on the Bishop’s staff as the Director of Vocations.

Fr. Todd was ordained a priest in 1999. "I hold the honor of being the last priest ordained for the Diocese of New Ulm in the 20th Century," noted Fr. Todd.

As a youth, he grew up in the Wabasso, MN area. "My mother was from that area and was raised in a good Catholic family. My father’s family was from the Marshall area, and he converted to Catholicism before he and my mom got married."

Fr. Todd has three siblings, one brother and two sisters. "There really was nothing extraordinary about our family," he acknowledged. "My father was a farm hired hand and we lived on a farm for the first half of my youth, but moved into town when I reached the sixth grade."

And it was in the 6th grade at St. Anne’s Grade School in Wabasso that Fr. Todd recalls the first mention of priesthood. "I remember we had a seminarian visit our class and speak on vocations. I really didn’t pay much attention though. I recall he had us write on a slip of paper who we thought was most likely to consider becoming a priest or sister. Out of seventeen students (ten boys, 7 girls,) I received 16 votes! Needless to say, I was embarrassed, only to be further embarrassed by a classmate’s father who asked when I was going to be a priest? I regret now that I simply replied, ‘Over my dead body!’"

As a teen, Fr. Todd loved to work on farms during the summer months. He could often be found walking beans or picking rocks. After school, he would frequently go to his maternal grandfather and grandmother’s house where he would help with little chores and just spend time with them.

But it was when his grandmother was diagnosed with liver cancer that he found he became a little bitter. "She taught me about service and sacrifice, and how each of us are called to it. In her death the summer before my sophomore year, she displayed courage and hope, but it seemed to me to be oddly placed."

However, it was the spring following his sophomore year that Fr. Todd started working at the local nursing home as a nursing assistant. "I am ashamed to admit that I only applied after much ‘badgering’ from my mom." After a short while though, he discovered that the work was not merely a job. He found that he really enjoyed working with the residents. "I learned (at the nursing home) a lot of skills that I still use daily, such as listening, compassion, and lots of stamina!"

Working with the residents not only brought great joy to Fr. Todd, but he was also able to learn from them. From time to time some of them would even invite him to consider being a priest but he constantly denied the thought. But, for some reason, that same "thought" kept coming back.

During his junior and senior years of high school, Fr. Todd decided to look at the medical fields, after dismissing teaching and psychology. "Not once did I ask God what He wanted of me,” recalls Fr. Todd.

After graduation from Wabasso Public High School in 1991, he went one year to the University of Minnesota-Morris as a pre-Medicine major. "I remember distinctly, even as I was moving in, that I was feeling uncertain of my future. Was I going to be happy as a doctor, was I going to find fulfillment?”

However, Fr. Todd’s mother encouraged him to take it one step at a time. As long as he felt that this was one step in the right direction, he would do fine. When Fr. Todd thought about it, he knew that going to Morris was a step in the right direction, but also knew, somehow, that he would not be there long. He found himself involved in the Newman Center, a Catholic campus ministry, and on a dormitory floor that had a number of Christians. “It was at Morris, in that atmosphere, that I found my Catholic faith had lit on fire!” smiled Fr. Todd.

It was with his new found faith, some healing from the grief of his grandmother’s death, and despite his parent’s divorce, that he began to pray that God would reveal His plan for his life. "I began to see all the gentle (and sometimes not so gentle) nudges of God," said Fr. Todd. "I saw how each episode of my life drew me closer, and some unfortunately further. I started to feel that God was calling me to a life of service and sacrifice as a priest."

Shortly after he felt the initial nudge to make another step, he was invited

to participate in an Operation Andrew event in Morris (which is in the St. Cloud diocese). Fr. Todd recalls that he, along with five others on campus became more involved in the Newman Center. "We all began to actively pray about our vocations."

It was at this point that he began to understand that even in his ‘non-religious’ major of pre-medicine, his desire was to heal hurts, and he knew that some hurts can only be healed by God. "I just knew beyond all doubt that God was calling me to

be a priest. What I wasn’t certain about was whether it was a diocesan priest or a religious priest."

But, calling to mind his desire to help people and his experiences back at the nursing home, he realized that the best way for that to happen would be serving in a diocese as a priest.

Fr. Todd began the application process and was accepted to St. John Vianney College Seminary at the University of St. Thomas to begin his priesthood studies for the Diocese of New Ulm. After three years, he achieved a BA with a major in Philosophy. He was then ‘assigned’ to St. Paul Seminary where he studied for four years.

Since becoming a priest, he has served for two years at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New Ulm and a year at the Church of St. Mary in Sleepy Eye as an associate pastor.

In the summer of 2002, Bishop Nienstedt appointed him the Coordinator of Seminarians, and at the same time he was assigned pastor at the Church of Japanese Martyrs in Leavenworth and sacramental minister at the Church

of St. Paul in Comfrey. A year later, he was appointed as Director of Vocations for the diocese, a position he currently holds.

Although serving as Vocation director in addition to pastoring four parishes keeps Fr. Todd active, he expresses he has not regretted one single day of his decision to become a priest. "Some days are long and intense, with periodic painful episodes put into the mix. But all are rewarding and for the most part joy-filled. I really love being a priest!"