Bishop Nienstedt finds great satisfaction in preaching

by Roger Matz

"I love to break open the Word of God. I always preach on the readings assigned and I’ve never given a canned homily," he said.

In Michigan, Bishop Nienstedt often spent his free days at a little cottage an hour north of Detroit. He’d generally take Fridays off, "cutting the grass and ‘putzing’ in the yard. The one thing I allowed myself to do on my day off was to work on my homily. I’d take an hour or two to reflect on it."

He’s also found satisfaction in the "wonderful friendships" he’s made during his career and in working with young people. The relationships he’s formed with priests, laity and families "are at the heart of what sustains me and gives me great joy." In young people, Bishop Nienstedt "sees the future. There’s a certain sense of enthusiasm, a certain sense of honesty and candor."

His toughest challenge involved serving as rector and president of Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, where he established a five-year training program for priests and a master’s program at the graduate level for laity, before leaving with reluctance to become a parish priest. "After six years I was just at the point where I thought I knew what I was doing and beginning to reap some of this investment," Bishop Nienstedt recalled. "Rather suddenly for me, the Archbishop told me he wanted to go to a large parish which was experiencing some difficulties. I didn’t see this coming, wasn’t prepared for it and had to leave this work that I loved." He accepted the call "out of a sense of obedience, because the Cardinal must know better than I, but it was tough to leave. I had invested so much of my energy and so much of myself in developing the seminary curriculum."

Bishop Nienstedt served that parish (Shrine of the Little Flower Parish in Royal Oak, MI) from 1994 to 1996. Now, beginning a new assignment as Bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm, he admits that "in hindsight, it was a propitious moment (to leave). The experience I had at this large parish has stood me in good stead as an auxiliary bishop and now in what I’ll do as a diocesan bishop."

Although he’s had positions of varying responsibility in both Detroit and Rome, and has participated in management seminars and training programs, Bishop Nienstedt feels the most appropriate schooling for the job of bishop came from his upbringing. "The best preparation I had was coming from a very solidly Catholic home. My parents (Jack and Betty Nienstedt) were good hard-working people," he said. "My mother eventually went back to school to get a master’s degree in education so she could go out and teach and help us get through college."

The Nienstedts’ three sons and three daughters grew up in an atmosphere of love and discipline. Dinner together was the rule rather than the exception. "I remember as a young boy, if you were late for dinner, you had to have a pretty good excuse. If you weren’t home (for dinner) my father would grill you on where you were, why you were late," Bishop Nienstedt said. "Needless to say, we didn’t come home late too often."

Jack Nienstedt manufactured and sold stainless steel products, such as doors, shelving, guard rails and exit signs, to large retailers such as Kmart. "Stainless steel is pretty durable and he had a guarantee on his doors that they would never wear out. He had a high level of integrity as a businessman."

Roger Matz is a regional writer living in Rochester, MN. He is a former member of St. Mary parish, New Ulm.