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Summer Parish Assignments
Rev. Mr. Matthew Colle ’22 (Green Bay) rejoices with his family following his ordination to the diaconate at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral (Green Bay, WI).
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REV. MR. MATTHEW COLLE ‘22, DIOCESE OF GREEN BAY
One week after my ordination to the diaconate on June 20, I began my summer assignment at St. Clare
Parish in Askeaton, Greenleaf, and
Wrightstown, Wisconsin. I had the opportunity to serve as deacon at every Mass and to preach at half of the daily and weekend Masses over the nine-week assignment. It was both a great blessing and challenge to preach to the faithful of St. Clare. Seeing that the parish was rural farm territory like my home parish, I was able to relate well with the people. Yet, despite the familiar small-town feel, the names were foreign to me. The saying, “People do not care who you are until they know you care,” I believe rings truer in a small farming community than anywhere else. How could I connect with the parishioners in such a short time so that the words I preach from the ambo were taken to heart?
Two days after the end of my summer parish assignment, I returned to the parish for the church picnic. Visiting with a young family that I had come to know over the summer, I learned that James, their four-year-old boy, had asked about me earlier that day. “Mom, where is Matt going?” His mom thought that he was talking about a cousin named Matt, but he said, “No, Matt from Church.” He had missed me already after two days. He was happy to see me, and I was glad to see him. He gave me a high five, too!
During the assignment, I spent a significant amount of time crafting my homilies in order to relate the mysteries of Christ’s life and our salvation to the faithful. However, I doubt James caught the main themes of my homilies. Still, in calling me “Matt from Church,” he perhaps saw the mystery of Christ’s life working in my own through the Sacrament of Orders. n
Encounter on the Camino
BEN PRIBBENOW ‘23, DIOCESE OF GREEN BAY
The most popular pilgrimage in the Western world is the Camino de Santiago. This walking pilgrimage, which can begin almost anywhere in Europe, ends at the relics of St. James the Greater in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. As early as the second century after Christ, Christians began making pilgrimages to the relics of St. James. Ever since I heard about this epic adventure, I wanted to complete it. That dream became a reality this summer with my friend and classmate from
Nebraska, Matthew Schilmoeller (Diocese of Lincoln ’23).
We set out from the cathedral in Porto, Portugal, walking the Portuguese Coastal Route towards Compostela. Each day began after our favorite Camino breakfast of Tostada de Tomate—toast with grated tomato spread—and coffee. Then, we walked anywhere between 15 and 30 kilometers before arriving at an albergue where we slept. Two Midwesterners, Matthew and I were astounded by the huge ocean waves that accompanied us along the coast. After being next to the Atlantic, we would ascend the hills inland. Reaching the top, we marveled at the breathtaking coastline we had hiked in the preceding days.
We encountered dozens of pilgrims on our journey. One encounter was with a young man and woman who had recently begun dating. Matthew and I had beautiful conversations with them. As we finished our day, the couple continued on the trail, but before they left, we caught their names: Jesús and Maria. If that is not revelatory of who was walking with us for the entire Camino, I do not know what is. Christ was with us for the whole journey, and Mary was always close as well.
We arrived in Compostela after thirteen days and approximately 280 kilometers. The relief of finally arriving at our destination must be similar to what arriving in heaven is like. We journeyed through joy and suffering with God at our side. We were finally granted, by his grace, a great reward.
This encounter with the Lord on the Camino puts into perspective my seminary formation. He has been with me throughout my seminary journey and, please God, will see me through to the great reward of priestly ordination. Of course, that is only another point on a journey toward my ultimate destination: eternal life. n
After walking over 280 kilometers in thirteen days, Ben Pribbenow ‘23 (Green Bay) and Matthew Schilmoeller ‘23 (Lincoln) triumphantly conclude their pilgrimage at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela (Santiago, Spain).
God Wants To Be With His People
MATTHEW LUDWIG ‘24, ARCHDIOCESE OF WASHINGTON
This summer, my diocesan brother Taylor Colwell (Archdiocese of Washington ‘23) and I spent five weeks at Our Lady of Guadalupe mission parish in Togo, a small nation in West
Africa. It is a rural parish—located a three-hour drive north of the capital city of Lomé in a farming village called Atchanvé.
Although the actual church building is in this village, the parish territory covers a huge area that includes almost 40 villages, about 20,000 people, a fourth of whom are Catholic. Some people speak some French, but mainly they speak a local tonal language called Ewe. Within the parish boundaries are fifteen secondary stations—that is, villages in which a catechist leads a communion service each Sunday. It takes two hours to go from one side of the parish to the other by car. In this part of Togo, however, almost no one has a car. This makes attending Mass at the main parish church each Sunday almost impossible; instead, the priests must travel around to the secondary stations offering Mass as frequently as possible.
To see the Church in this environment, in a completely different culture, was eye-opening. I expected to see a new culture, but it was surprising to live in a place where polygamy is legal, where farm animals are given as gifts to visitors, and where even the suggestion that God does not exist is laughable. The Church there is growing rapidly, and the Archdiocese
From the right, Matthew Ludwig '24 (Washington) and Taylor Colwell '23 (Washington) with Rev. William Ryan and Rev. Jonathan Togbe. Fr. Ryan, a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, founded the mission parish over 15 years ago.
of Lomé ordains at least twenty men to the priesthood each year. It is clear—God wants to be with his people.
God has a great desire that our hearts meet his, and to see this desire in a parish was a great privilege. The Eucharist, which makes this encounter possible, is the treasure of the Church, but it makes real demands on our lives.
Our pastor Fr. Ryan left his home and family in America and learned a difficult African language to become a missionary, bringing God to his people. Catechists from the secondary stations wake up early on Sunday mornings and ride on motorcycles for up to an hour to get to the Church at 5:00am, retrieve the Eucharist, and return to their villages to lead morning communion services. We even met a teenager who worked on a farm to pay for a place to live within walking distance from the church so that he could receive daily communion, even though his family lived in a village two hours away.
These were all moving witnesses to the value of the Eucharist, and all were responses to God’s desire to be with us—from which no person in any part of the world is excluded. n
