Click here to view photos from the June 5 Jubilee Celebration

690 years of religious life as Dehonians

On Monday evening, June 5, the US Province celebrated the profession anniversaries of 18 SCJ priests and brothers. In total, the 2017 jubilarians represent 690 years of religious life as members of the Priests of the Sacred Heart.

The celebration took place at Sacred Heart Monastery / Seminary and School of Theology; Fr. Ed Kilianski, SCJ, provincial superior, was the main presider and Fr. Bill Pitcavage, SCJ, was the homilist.

Jubilarians included four SCJs celebrating 60 years, six commemorating 50, one noting 40, four celebrating 20 and three ten-year jubilarians. We introduce the jubilarians below:

60 Years

Fr. Jan de Jong, SCJ…

79, is originally from the Netherlands, and made his first profession in the Dutch Province. Ordained in 1964, he did his seminary studies in Holland and earned a doctorate in moral theology from the Academia Alfonsiana in Rome and a licentiate in theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, also in Rome.

In 1969 he came to the US Province to put those degrees to work, first on the faculty of Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology and later, as a chaplain and CPE director at St. Luke’s Hospital in Milwaukee, and Hermann Hospital and Methodist Hospital (both in Houston). From 1996-1999 he was novice master for the US Province before returning to SHSST to teach moral theology and systematic studies. In 2008 he was named president-rector of the seminary. He served in the role until his retirement in 2012. He is now a member of the Sacred Heart Community at SHML.

Fr. Richard MacDonald, SCJ…

78, is simply known as “Fr. Mac” to just about anyone who has met him. A Detroit native, he ministered in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas for 25 years before being named provincial superior of the US Province in 2001. When he completed his second three-year term in 2007 he returned to south Texas to continue a ministry that he said opened his eyes to the needs and concerns of immigrants.

“When I grew up in Detroit, born of Canadian parents, there were no stories about immigration or ‘border issues’ in my family,” wrote Fr. Mac in a reflection on immigration.  “We went through the tunnel between Detroit and Windsor or we traveled the Ambassador Bridge, and no one seemed anxious or nervous about the things that were hidden in the diaper bag to bring to my French Mimi or to take back to our house.

“I can honestly say that my passion and concern for what was going on here in the United States began to surface when I came to South Texas in 1975.  Suddenly I saw behavior that was so different from the ports of entry in Michigan and Ontario. The ‘white folks’ like myself were waived through the border crossings but the ‘brown skins,’ the Mexican people, were questioned at the airports, in stores, on the street, etc.”

Fr. Mac now serves on the North American Migration Committee while continuing to minister near the south Texas border.

Fr. Tony Russo, SCJ…

78, celebrated his 50th anniversary of priesthood last year with a reunion of fellow classmates in Rome, where he earned a degree from the Gregorian University. Among the classmates was Bishop Virginio Bressanelli (would later go on to become the superior general of the Priests of the Sacred Heart).

A Chicago native, Fr. Tony’s first assignments were as a teacher, as well as a formation director, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Massachusetts, and at Kilroe Seminary in Pennsylvania. Fr. Tony later served in formation, and as director of pastoral and field education for Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology.

In 1975, Fr. Tony – as did classmate Fr. Mac – moved to Texas. He served in parish ministry and with Marriage Encounter in San Antonio, and later as pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Houston. From 1989 – 1995 Fr. Tony was in province administration. He returned to parish ministry as pastor of St. Martin of Tours in Franklin, WI.

Now retired, Fr. Tony is a member of the Sacred Heart Community at SHML and serves on the North American Immigration Committee.

Fr. Frank Wittouck, SCJ…

79, is also a Chicago native. An only child, he said that when he was growing up he wanted to have siblings. “This is probably one of the big reasons why I went to the minor seminary at Donaldson in 1952,” he said, laughing. “Immediately I got 120 brothers and was not homesick!”

Ordained in 1965, Fr. Frank taught at Divine Heart Seminary in Donaldson and served in formation, first for the province and later as director of spiritual formation at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology.

In 1980 he became a military chaplain, serving at Camp Humphreys in Korea and Fort Hood in Texas. From 1985-88 he returned to spiritual formation at SHSST, but by 1989 he was back in uniform, serving as a chaplain in Germany, Kuwait and Louisiana.

In 1993 he entered parish ministry, serving at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish, one of the largest parish communities in Houston. He is now retired in Houston, but continues to be active in a number of ministries including Cypress Assistance Ministries (a social outreach program in Houston), serving as a prison chaplain, Marriage Encounter, and Magnificat House (a program that serves Houston’s homeless and chronically mentally ill).

50 Years

Fr. Nick Brown, SCJ…

74, was working high up on an electrical pole in Wyoming when he first gave serious thought to a religious vocation. He said that he put his tools in his belt and started to reflect on the question: “What happens after this life?”

In 1964 he entered the seminary, continued to question and learn about that “something” he believed in, and professed his vows with the Priests of the Sacred Heart in 1967. Last year he celebrated his 40th anniversary of priesthood.

His first assignment as a priest was at St. Lawrence parish in San Antonio where he ministered for four years. It was while he was there that he learned of the need for a “street minister.” The ministery was a part of a downtown outreach program.

After training with a person who did such ministry in Chicago, Fr. Nick headed out the door to his new “street church.” That was in September, 1981. It was a ministry of presence, sometimes simply offering a listening hear to those who needed it, and letting people on the fringes of society know that someone cared about them. He continued to do street ministry until 2001.

Fr. Nick has also served as a chaplain at San Antonio State Hospital (previously the Fort Sam Army Hospital), and the Audie Murphy VA. Since 1993 he has been chaplain at the San Antonio University Hospital and at St. Luke’s Baptist.

Fr. Leonard Elder, SCJ…

75, served as missionary brother in Zaire (now, the Democratic Republic of Congo) for nine years before entering the seminary.

“God, through the voices of many people [in Africa], called me to pursue studies for the priesthood,” said Fr. Leonard.

He first came to the Priests of the Sacred Heart with the desire for ordained ministry. After graduation from the minor seminary (Divine Heart in Donaldson, Ind.) he entered the novitiate.

“But I then I decided that I didn’t want to be a priest,” he said.

Instead of professing his first vows, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. In some ways, his time of military service was an extended period of discernment. After four years with the Air force “I asked to return to the community as a religious brother.”

Fr. Leonard said that what he enjoyed most about his years in Africa “were the challenges; learning new cultures, languages, and the daily struggles to overcome the lack of almost everything I was accustomed to using. However, joined with those challenges was discovering a people eager to celebrate God’s love and to share in their lives and struggles.”

Following ordination, the Kentucky native served in pastoral ministry in Mississippi, where he continues to live in retirement while doing part-time parish ministry.

Fr. Tim Gray, SCJ…

68, said that his “uneventful boyhood life in the Detroit suburbs was jolted loose in 1961 by an SCJ named Fr. Justin Guiltnane. He came to our grade school to give a vocation talk and filled me with the desire to become a missionary. So at the age of 13, I left home for the minor seminary.”

He never became a foreign missionary but Fr. Tim said that he still “travelled far, not only in miles, but in culture and spirituality.” Following his ordination in 1978, he began parish ministry.

“I had the chance to spend four years in an SCJ parish in Toronto, which opened me up to the experience of living in other countries, and other SCJ provinces,” he said.

For nearly 30 years Fr. Tim ministered to among Hispanic Catholics in Texas. “My experience among the Hispanic people has truly been a conversion experience for me and has deeply affected my spirituality and my pastoral action,” he said.

For several years Fr. Tim served in formation but last year returned to Texas to serve as associate pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Houston.

Fr. Paul Grizzelle-Reid, SCJ…

75, was born in Jamaica. When he was 17, Fr. Paul’s father died; his mother moved him and his eight siblings to New York City in search for a better life.

In his early 20s Fr. Paul pursued his vocation to the priesthood. He was ordained in 1972 and his first assignment was at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Brownsville, Texas.

In 1977, he joined the Army as a military chaplain serving first at Fort Hood (Texas) and later Bamberg (Germany), Fort Monmouth (New Jersey) and Fort Buchanan (Puerto Rico).

In 1984 he returned to parish ministry at St. Cecilia in San Antonio and later St. Matthew’s in Houston.

In 1993 he became director of the ESL (English as a Second Language) program at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology. He came to know many SCJs from throughout the world during his six years with ESL.

Since 2015 Fr. Paul has been in Florida, first in parish ministry, and now as a member of the Sacred Heart Community in Pinellas Park.

Fr. Wayne Jenkins, SCJ…

70, has been “on-loan” to the US Province from Canada for over 25 years. Born and raised in Chatham, Ontario, he credits an aunt, who was an Ursuline Sister, for nurturing his vocation. He learned of the SCJs through their minor seminary in Delaware, Ontario, and studied philosophy at Kilroe Seminary in Honesdale, where he was a member of the school’s first graduating class.

From philosophy in Pennsylvania Fr. Wayne flew across the world to begin his theology studies in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. He was there from 1973-76 and was ordained a priest in 1977.

Fr. Wayne’s first assignment was at St. Joan of Arc parish in Toronto. While there, he founded Umat Katolik Indonesia, a worship community for Indonesian Catholics in the archdiocese. The Indonesian Province continues to send SCJs to Toronto to minister to the community.

In 1990, Fr. Wayne came to the US Province, where he has primarily served as province archivist. He has also assisted several other entities, such as the Philippines, Indonesia and India, in developing their own archives, as well as taught archive management skills in various locations. Fr. Wayne has also assisted the general administration in Rome.

Fr. Dominic Peluse, SCJ…

70, has been spiritual director of the Province Development Office for many years. Originally from Poughkeepsie, NY, it was a missing year of Latin that prompted Fr. Dominic to pursue his vocation with the Priests of the Sacred Heart.

As a young man he applied to the Blessed Sacrament Fathers. However, he learned that he would have to repeat his senior year of high school before fully entering the seminary because he only had three years of Latin instead of the usual four. But then he learned about a seminary for people like him, students who had a little catch-up to do in preparation for priesthood studies. It was operated by the Priests of the Sacred Heart.

He entered the program, professed his first vows in 1967 and was ordained in 1974.

“Each year it seems that I learn more about the community and our founder,” he said. “Every time I learn more I feel a greater commitment to the Priests of the Sacred Heart and our ministry.”

Except for a few years in vocations, and now as spiritual director of the Province Development Office, most of Fr. Dominic’s years of ministry has been in parishes. “That’s really a ministry that I have loved, being in a parish, making friendships, being a part of people’s lives in both good times and bad,” he said.  “It is a way that we can be Eucharist to others.”

40 Years

Fr. Robert Naglich, SCJ…

61, is from Hammond, Ind., and did his theological studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where he earned an M.Div.

Ordained in 1991, Fr. Bob’s first assignment was at St. Matthew’s parish in Houston, Texas. He served there for three years and then joined fellow jubilarian, Fr. Dominic Peluse, at Christ the Redeemer parish (also in Houston) in 1991. Fr. Bob was there until 1997.

His next assignments took him close to home, serving at St. Mary parish (Crown Point, Ind), Nativity of Our Savior (Portage, Ind.) and St. Paul (Valparaiso, Ind.).

Fr. Bob is now in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee where he served for several years at St. Martin of Tours parish in Franklin.

20 Years

Br. Duane Lemke, SCJ…

45, is just coming off of a year’s sabbatical after serving almost ten years in formation.

A home-grown SCJ, Br. Duane grew up in an SCJ parish in South Dakota and as a teen, worked for the SCJ community when it had a pastoral team in Eagle Butte.

He studied at the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D.before entering candidacy in 1995. He later earned a master’s degree in Pastoral Studies from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

His first ten years of ministry were in and around Lower Brule, S.D.  “As a member of the Catholic Pastoral Team, I ministered to youth and elders, taught religious education to youth and adults, and was a pastoral associate to St. Michael’s Parish in Kennebec,” he said.

Following his years in South Dakota Br. Duane moved to Chicago to serve in formation. Last year he concluded his assignment with the formation community, having been both the formation director and superior of the house. Br. Duane also spent several years on the Provincial Council.

Fr. Vien Nguyen, SCJ…

43, is coming to the end of a lengthy academic journey. Last year he received his Master’s Degree in Theology and his S.T.L. (Licentiate of Sacred Theology) from the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley. A year earlier he did his comprehensive exams and coursework for the degrees; it was a necessary stepping stone toward his doctorate in Biblical Studies.

Now he is in the midst of his dissertation. The focus of his doctoral work is on people who live on the fringes of society, how people are separated by ethnicity, gender and space. Much of his reflection is based in the Gospel of Luke.

As a refugee from Vietnam, it is a topic with which he has first-hand familiarity. “The journey that led me to the United States was incredible,” he wrote in a reflection. “I spent days on a small, fragile fishing boat crossing the South China Sea, lived in refugee camps in the Philippines awaiting approval for asylum in the United States and, once I made it here, had to adapt to a new culture.

Ordained in 2004, Fr. Vien served in parish ministry and in formation before entering post-graduate studies.

Fr. David Szatkowski, SCJ…

45, grew up in a military family. After taking part in the 1992 Christian Summer Experience in Raymondville, Texas, hosted by the province vocation office, he applied for candidacy. He studied theology at Catholic Theological Union (M.Div. in 2002) and was ordained June 12, 2002.

His first assignment was at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Houston, but it wasn’t long before he was back at school.  He earned a license and doctorate in Canon Law at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas in the City (the Angelicum) in Rome; Fr. David successfully defended his dissertation in 2011.

For several years Fr. David served in northern Mississippi as a judge for the Tribunal of Jackson and as pastor of the parishes of St. Joseph (Holly Springs) and Queen of Peace (Olive Branch).

In July, 2016, he returned to the Dehon Formation House. But this time it was as local superior and director of the province college program. “I am happy to be working with those who will continue the SCJ charism and ministry into the future,” he said. During his first year he is also back at CTU, taking part in its program for new formation directors.

Fr. Chuck Wonch, SCJ…

70, served in the US Air Force and earned degrees in Industrial Management from Jackson State University (Mississippi) and Theological Studies from Spring Hill College (Mobile, Al.) before pursing his religious vocation. Initially, he planned to serve the Church as a lay minister.

“After earning a master’s in Theological Studies I worked with many parish priests and churches around central Mississippi,” he said. At the same time, he held a full-time job for 15 years as a purchasing supervisor at Grand Gulf Nuclear Station.

But increasingly, he said “God seemed to be calling me to come and follow Him and be of service to His people.”

He was ordained to the priesthood in 2002. For many years he served on the pastoral team that serves the Lower Brule and Crow Creek Reservations in South Dakota. In 2009, he moved to Hales Corners. Fr. Chuck currently assists with the province vocation office and is a member of the Sacred Heart Community at SHML.

10 Years

Br. Clay Diaz, SCJ…

52, started candidacy with the Priests of the Sacred Heart in 2003.

Born in Massachusetts, Br. Clay, 49, grew up on the East Coast but moved to Puerto Rico as a young adult. Much of his family also lives there, including his mother. “I come from a BIG family,” said Br. Clay. And that’s no exaggeration; he has 10 sisters and four brothers.

“Being a religious brother, an SCJ brother, is a blessing and a great joy,” he said. “One of the reasons why I joined the SCJs was because of the charism, the love that we have for the Sacred Heart of Jesus, but also because Fr. Dehon, our founder, worked with the poor. When I visit our ministries I realize that I want to continue to follow in his footsteps.

Br. Clay did his undergraduate studies at Saint Xavier University in Chicago, and later earned a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Studies (MAPS) from Catholic Theological Union, also in Chicago.

Bilingual, Br. Clay is fluent in English and Spanish, including sign language in both languages. Hearing impaired, Br. Clay said that his disability gives him an advantage in reaching out to people with special needs, “I have an understanding of the challenges they face.” He has ministered in South Dakota and Mississippi.

Br. Long Nguyen, SCJ…

37, may have a Vietnamese name but he is definitely a man of Louisiana’s bayou country.  He appreciates a good gumbo as much as the Vietnamese dishes from his family’s homeland.  And while he speaks fluent Vietnamese, his English is definitely tinted with a bit of a southern drawl.

Br. Long’s parents immigrated to the United States from Vietnam in 1975.  Four years later, Br. Long was born in Texas.  But soon after, the family moved to Louisiana. His childhood was a mix of Cajun crawfish and Vietnamese spring rolls.

While in school, Br. Long was active with a variety of youth, young adult and outreach ministries.  Following his first profession he moved to Raymondville, Texas, to minister with the SCJ pastoral team in the Rio Grande Valley. He later served at St. Martin of Tours parish in Franklin, Wis., with the ESL Program at SHSST, and at the province vocation office.

Last year, Br. Long moved to the Dehon Formation Community in Chicago. He is now attending classes at CTU as he discerns a vocation to ordained ministry.

In Chicago he is also involved with The Ministry of Care, a volunteer group out of Saint Thomas the Apostle Church.

Br. Brian Tompkins, SCJ…

60, is originally from Canada but did his novitiate in the United States, and for several years, has assisted our with our retired priests and brothers at Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake.

He said that his vocation to religious life began over 40 years ago as a call to the diocesan priesthood. “That is what I knew of priesthood growing up in rural Cape Breton, Nova Scotia,” he said. “But it wasn’t until my late thirties, and after many years in the work force, that I sincerely began to pursue what I truly believed: that God was still calling me to religious life.”

He first pursued diocesan priesthood, but during his studies he realized that his call was to religious life, and not necessarily as an ordained minister. He learned about the Priests of the Sacred Heart after coming across a brochure. He applied, entered candidacy and professed his first vows in 1997.

Br. Brian’s first assignment was at Resurrection of Our Lord parish in Ottawa. He then became interested in geriatric ministry and served in elder care from 2007-2012 in Toronto.

He is now a part of the ministry team at Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake in Franklin, Wis.

Click here to view photos from the June 5 Jubilee Celebration