Priestly vocations

This fall, eight men answered the call to the priesthood and were accepted into seminary for the Bismarck Diocese. The diocese is blessed to have 15 seminarians, at different levels of study, in formation to one day, God willing, become your priests.
 
New to the seminary this year are Tyler Selzler, Preston Barbie, Ronan Klindworth, Aiden Schaefbauer, Nolan Johnson, Taylen Thomas, Paul Vetter and Joseph Schweitzer.
 
In this month’s article, we introduce you to three of the eight newest men studying to someday be your priest. A profile in last month’s issue featured three men and a subsequent article will profile the other men. Each of these men is in their second semester of study in minor seminary formation.
 
 Tyler Selzler
 
Tyler Selzler grew up attending the small-town parish of Pius V Church in New Salem. There, he developed an admiration for the priesthood and a love for the Mass.
 
“While in high school, my pastor, Fr. John Guthrie, spent Wednesday evenings teaching our CYO classes,” Tyler shared. “He would stay after every week and talk with us. I always admired his intelligence and looked up to him as a mentor. I loved the structure and stability of the Mass, and the idea that I can go to Catholic Mass anywhere in the world, at any time, and it would make present the same sacrifice that Jesus made for us 2,000 years ago.” 
 
Tyler’s connection to his parish pastor led to thoughts of the priesthood but he put it aside to pursue college aspirations.
 
“I had thoughts about being a priest in high school because I admired my pastor, but I felt that it was more of a desire to grow in my faith,” he said. “Father John mentioned once to me that I should pray about the call to the priesthood, but I wanted to go to school and study mechanical engineering, so I put off thinking about seminary.”
 
After arriving at the University of Mary in Bismarck, his love of the sacraments was transformed leading him back to those thoughts about exploring a path to the priesthood. 
 
“The beauty of the sacraments was displayed so well at UMary,” Tyler shared. “Around this time, Fr. Paul Gardner started mentoring me and encouraged me to start going to daily Mass and praying in adoration more often. During my sophomore year, I went to a SEEK conference and met the FOCUS missionaries at our school. I started going to Bible studies with the missionaries. The FOCUS team leader led me in a discipleship program, and I eventually led a Bible study myself. All these events led me to thinking more seriously and praying with the idea of going to seminary. By my junior year of college, I found that I had a desire to go to seminary that was far stronger than continuing with engineering.”

Tyler’s formation at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis has been extremely positive and led to major growth in his faith.

“My experience of seminary so far has been great,” he said. “I love the formation seminars where we are learning about salvation history, the Gospels, the Church and how it all applies to my personal relationship with Christ and with those around me. I enjoy learning about our faith and spending time with my brother seminarians.”
 
Continued prayers are welcomed by all our seminarians, Tyler said.

“To the people of the Bismarck Diocese, I would like to express my sincere gratitude,” he shared. “Your prayers and support are the reason I am here with all the other seminarians of our diocese. Please continue praying for us, our families and the formation teams at our seminaries.”
 
Preston Barbie
 
Raised as a parishioner with his family at the Pro-Cathedral of St. Mary in Bismarck, Preston Barbie developed a servant heart at an early age.
 
“I’ve always loved the parish, and it has been a joy to be able to call it my parish, Preston shared. “St. Mary’s has been a big part of my life and has been a large influence on my discernment. My family has been a part of an usher group, and I grew up helping in any way I could. Once I reached third grade, I was trained to altar serve and I was able to serve my parish through it. The desire to serve others and the Church has always been on my heart and a large part of my life.”
 
The affinity for parish life went hand in hand with a deep appreciation for the priesthood. But it wasn’t until his first year of college that he moved in the direction toward seminary.
 
“The priesthood has always been a part of my life growing up,” he said. “You can’t have the Mass without the priest. I first realized this fact and the importance of the priesthood late in grade school and throughout middle school, but I never really saw it as something for me. I attended St. Mary’s Central High School in Bismarck, and it was there that I grew more in my faith. I began to take things more personally and make my faith a real part of my life. Different classes, talks, experiences and thoughts of my future challenged me and led me to begin truly considering my vocation. I felt then that it was my duty as a faithful man to not simply assume marriage as my vocation. Rather, I felt that discerning the vocation to join the seminary and possibly become a priest was not only worth praying about, but something that I ought to pray about and submit my will to the Father’s will and let Him guide me where He wants me. 
 
“Toward the end of the year, I didn’t have enough confidence in the clarity of my vocation, and I didn’t feel a call yet to join the seminary so I figured my best course of action would be to go to college, which would allow me to continue discerning. So, I attended the University of North Dakota studying aerospace engineering. Over the summer, after graduation, I kept feeling increasingly called to seriously consider the priesthood through different experiences, such as serving the impoverished while on a mission trip to Peru. Experiencing a higher level of serving others than I had experienced before and seeing Christ in the people I was with led me to feel a greater desire to join the seminary. 
 
Preston finished out his freshman year of college but had already decided that seminary was the next step.
 
“Later that summer, I got in contact with Fr. Dosch, the vocation director at the time, and made known to him the call I was feeling,” Preston added. “He guided me to continue to attend UND and gave me a few books to aid me as I discerned more seriously. Fr. Dosch supported me throughout my first year of college and, through the help of the Church, I was able to hear the call to the seminary and make the decision to ask for an application to join.”
 
His parents choosing Catholic schools for him and his experience there made a tremendous impact on his faith life and discernment process. 

“There are many people that have been influential in my life and that have brought me closer to Christ,” Preston said. “First, my parents, who raised me in the faith, brought me Mass, taught me how to pray and ensured that I would receive an excellent education. Their influence in my life and the great many things that they have done for me are immeasurable. 
 
“My high school chaplain at St. Mary’s Central High School and parochial vicar at my parish, Fr. Jake Magnuson, taught me what it means to be a disciple of Christ and how to live the faith more personally in my life. He was the biggest outside influence in my awakening of faith. Also, Dr. Nick Emmel from SMCHS was a large influence on my formation and education. He encouraged me to think in a different way, motivated me to think deeper and to ask more important questions. I am very grateful to Fr. Magnuson and Dr. Emmel for my high school education and formation as a young man striving to live a life of faith.”
 
Seminary life for Preston at St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington, D.C. has been a place of growth and exploration.
 
 “My seminary experience so far has been very formative and enjoyable!” he shared. “The seminary is a place where one can grow in virtue and faith and in different aspects that are important for someone who is studying for the priesthood. I’ve had different classes at the Catholic University of America; I’ve travelled to places I’ve never been and done things I never imagined I would be able to do. We’ve gone on pilgrimage to different shrines along the East Coast and have been able to have silent retreats. My seminary experience has been one of growth in prayer and in who I am.”
 
Like many men in their first years of seminary, Preston is forging strong bonds with his brother seminarians.
 
“I enjoy seminary life a lot, but one of the biggest aspects is fraternity with the other guys here,” he said. “The seminary schedule is structured to allow for a balance of prayer, liturgies, classes, formation, work, leisure and fraternity. All these things are important and necessary for all aspects of the formation process and daily life. I enjoy all of them but have come to appreciate the fraternity a lot. Being in a house with almost 60 brothers allows me to create a lot of friendships and encounter many opportunities to spend time with them. It’s customary to spend time together after supper and we have a common room where we can relax. We play pool, foosball, cards, musical instruments, make coffee, play board games and watch sports games and movies. We encounter each other in different ways outside of schoolwork and create friendships through these different mediums.
 
Preston conveyed his immense gratitude to the people of our diocese for the prayers and continued support.
 
“To the people of the Bismarck Diocese, thank you very much for your support and prayers for all of us seminarians,” he expressed. “We are very grateful for all your generosity. We are very proud to be able to say that we are from Bismarck and it is because of all the faithful who we know are supporting us. Thank you all very much and God bless.”
 
Ronan Klindworth
 
Ronan Klindworth grew up attending the small-town parish of St. Joseph’s in Beulah with his family. It was there, during high school, that thoughts of the priesthood entered his heart and mind.
 
“I received the foundation of my catechesis in my parish through CCD classes, Bible studies and, most impactfully, through opportunities to attend Steubenville conferences, SEARCH retreats and the March for Life,” Ronan said. “These experiences brought to life the formation I received from a young age within the parish from my parents, catechists and pastors. In fact, it was through the Steubenville conferences and SEARCH retreats that the seeds of discernment were sown in my life.” 
 
Those early thoughts of the priesthood came from the greater exposure to the Church as he became more involved with youth events in the diocese. 
 
“These events introduced me to many of the holy priests of our diocese,” Ronan explained. “I especially was touched by the revelation of the true fraternity that is shared among the priests and seminarians of our diocese. These realizations combined with an increased devotion to our Lord in the Eucharist—present in the Mass and in adoration—was what, for the first time, made the prospect of seminary and the priesthood something that was attractive. 
 
“The final push to join seminary came through the formation I received at the University of Mary. While there, I was invited into the mission of living my life for others and this gave me a context to live out the catechetical formation I had received to that point. Then, I knew that my desire to know about God was serving my greater desire to share Him with others and to ultimately imitate His love for me as I served others.”
 
The pastors at his home parish played a key role in his formation and journey toward the priesthood. 
 
“I have had the blessing of two heroic pastors at St. Joseph’s,” shared Ronan. “My first pastor, Father Ken Phillips, really showed me what it looked like to be a man in love—a man in love with God and in love with the Church. This is most inspiring in hindsight because, as a child, I was not as excited about Church or CCD. My current pastor, Father Thomas Grafsgaard, accompanied me as a spiritual father throughout my adolescence. Father Grafsgaard presented the faith as something that was reasonable, which was what ultimately motivated me to take my faith seriously and my relationship with God as something that demanded my entire life.”
 
Ronan is studying at St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington, D.C. and said that seminary life has already exceeded his expectations.
 
“My experience thus far in seminary has been a great blessing,” he said. “The formation we receive has truly surpassed what I ever could have expected. The formators and spiritual directors are firmly committed to the development of us principally as Christian men who can then respond generously to the call of fatherhood.”
 
The friendships formed and developed with his fellow seminarians is a highlight for Ronan.
 
“I most enjoy the vibrant fraternity of the seminary,” he shared. “There is real camaraderie among the 60 men who live in the house. The fraternity among the seminarians I am particularly close with, especially my diocesan brothers, is a bond that runs deep. We do many things together in our common life ranging from playing sports and games to going on excursions and road trips. The common pursuit of holiness through our life of prayer in the context of the brotherhood and culture of the seminary has been especially edifying.”
 
The prayers and generosity of the people of his home diocese are what fuel him on.
 
“A hallmark of my seminary experience has been the bombardment of immense prayer and support from the people of the Bismarck Diocese,” Ronan said. “I learned very early that the culture of the Bismarck seminarians is a clear reflection of the generosity of the people of the diocese. I would like to thank all the people from the diocese who make it possible to be formed in the seminary. I am greatly inspired by the generosity of the people of our diocese.”