A familiar face returns to SHSST
Fr. Tom Knoebel has been named interim president-rector of Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology, effective July 1. He replaces Msgr. Ross Shecterle, whose five-year term ends June 30.
“The Priests of the Sacred Heart have spent the past few months seeking ways to enhance our commitment and presence at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology, one of the major apostolates not only of our province, but of our congregation,” said Fr. Ed Kilianski, SCJ, provincial superior of the US Province.
“I have been in dialogue with our general administration in Rome, and with many of my fellow SCJs around the world, about collaborative possibilities for the future,” he continued. “There is a strong commitment to Sacred Heart and I anticipate that starting with the next academic year we will have several more SCJs joining the seminary community in various capacities.”
A global search has surfaced strong possibilities for leadership in the future but the congregation is not prepared to name a permanent SHSST president-rector at this time.
Fr. Tom Knoebel, a priest with the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, is an emeritus professor of systematic theology and a member of the seminary’s Board of Directors. He served at SHSST from 1981 to 2013, for many years as vice rector, and twice as interim president-rector (1992-1993 and in the fall of 2007). Fr. Tom holds a Ph.D. in theology from Fordham University.
“The Priests of the Sacred Heart, both in our province and globally, envisions a vibrant future for SHSST in service to the Church,” said Fr. Ed. “We are very grateful to Fr. Tom Knoebel for accepting this responsibility while we take time to ensure the best possible leadership arrangement for the future. He is a well-known leader with a pastoral heart who is very familiar with the Priests of the Sacred Heart and Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology.”
Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology in Franklin, Wis. (suburban Milwaukee), is North America’s largest seminary specializing in the formation of men of all ages, with 30 U.S. and Canadian dioceses and religious orders using it for the formation of their future priests, including the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
