By Dan Sullivan
Catholic Herald
Priests recall their path to priesthood in 1950s
SUPERIOR -- Fr. Joseph Kelchak, ordained in 1950 for the Diocese of Superior, grew up in Gary, Ind. "I was told the Superior diocese needed priests, I wrote a letter to Bishop (William) O'Connor and was accepted into the diocese," Kelchak said.
Kelchak said he wanted to become a priest at an early age. He attended parochial school in Gary, and St. Procopius Academy in Lisle, Ill.
"I was taught by Benedictine priests," Kelchak said. "I wanted to be a priest before I went to Procopius. I used to play the part of a priest. My congregation was my brother and sister."
Both his parents immigrated to this country from Slovakia and were people of deep faith, Kelchak said. "We never missed Mass. You had to be dying in order to miss Mass."
Kelchak credited the influence of his parents for helping him decide to become a priest.
"I had deeply religious parents," Kelchak said. "I saw my parents say the rosary. We also had to say prayers, on our knees, with a parent present in the morning and at night."
He remembers learning the Our Father, Hail Mary, Apostles Creed, Glory Be and the Ten Commandments at an early age.
"For the longest time, I didn't know the Ten Commandments weren't a prayer because my parents made us say them, along with our other prayers," Kelchak said.
Although very devout Catholics, Kelchak said his parents never pushed him to become a priest.
"Becoming a priest was my decision," Kelchak said."My mom thought I was too young to leave after the eighth grade."
Part of his early priestly ministry included teaching at the Cathedral School in Superior.
"I had taught seventh and eighth graders religion as a third assistant," Kelchak said. "I love teaching."
He became a pastor in December 1955. During his time has a priest, Kelchak supervised the building of St. John the Baptist Church in Webster and Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary Church in Crescent Lake. "St. John the Baptist Church won a second place medal in a national architectural competition," Kelchak said.
Besides parish ministry, during his 40 years in the Superior diocese, Kelchak was the first chairman of the diocesan liturgical commission.
Leaving the diocese in May 1990, Kelchak returned to his home state of Indiana. As a senior priest in the Gary diocese, he has been a hospital chaplain for seven years.
"I'm hardly retired." Kelchak said. "It's a joke to say I am retired. I am busier now than when I was an active priest."
Kelchak said he enjoyed his time in the Superior diocese, but admits it is good to be home.
"I come from a close knit family and we now are able to get together," he said. "Coming home was out of the question during Christmas as an active priest. In 40 years, I made many friends in the Superior diocese. If my family was there, I wouldn't have left."
Kelchak said wished more men would become priests.
"It's a wonderful vocation," he said. "I wouldn't trade my life for anything."
Fr. Edward Powell, was raised in Franklin Park, Ill, in the Chicago Archdiocese. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Superior in 1954, by Bishop Joseph Annabring, at the Cathedral of Christ the King, Superior.
Powell said the priests of his boyhood parish had an impact on his life.
"The pastors and the assistants of my home parish in Franklin Park were an influence," he said. "They were holy and very active priests. My family lived right across the street from the church and I was there a lot of time."
The family also befriended the religious sisters.
"I was very close to the sisters," Powell said. "My grandmother and mother were always taking things over to them. If they needed a server, they knew where to call."
Although his parents divorced and he did not really know his father, Powell said his mother, Anne Powell, had a big effect on his faith.
"My mother was a very sincere Catholic," Powell said. "Her nightly prayers took her an hour. For the 12 years I was in the seminary, my mother lit a weekly votive light."
During his time in ministry, Powell strived to emulate priests from home and those he met in the seminary.
"I wanted to use them as a model," he said. "They were the kind of priest I wanted to be. I wanted to reach out to people in the ways they did."
Although he did not have responsibility for any church building projects, he did oversee the building of a rectory in Winter.
"I tore down quite a few buildings, including St. Louis Church in Superior, after it burned," Powell said.
Reflecting on his life, Powell said he has no regrets becoming a priest.
"Not that it's always been perfect, but it's always been reasonably satisfying," he said.
Residing in Tomahawk, Powell helps in the Tomahawk parish cluster and serves as a part-time chaplain at Bell Tower Residence in Merrill. "I have Mass for the residents of Bell Tower three or four times a week," he said.
Fr. James Dabruzzi, a native of North Hudson, said he has served the diocese for 52 years.
"That's over half the life of the diocese," Dabruzzi said.
Among his priestly influence was a former Hudson pastor, the late Msgr. John Owens.
"Msgr. Owens was an old stalwart in the diocese," Dabruzzi said. "He came from Ireland and served the diocese for many years. He was an inspiration for me."
Owens became a priest in 1906, the first priest ordained for the Diocese of Superior.
Dabruzzi recalled attending "the old" St. Patrick School in Hudson and being taught by the Sisters of St. Agnes from Fond du Lac, Wis. "I admired them very much and their influence was very important," Dabruzzi said.
Dabruzzi began seminary studies in 1941, during World War II.
"My family supported my decision to become a priest," Dabruzzi said.
The family prayed the rosary often.
"During World War II, we prayed the rosary a lot," Dabruzzi said. "My parents prayed the rosary all through their lives."
He was ordained a priest for the diocese in 1953, and called his time in active ministry happy years.
"My years were very fruitful," Dabruzzi said. "I enjoyed my time in the seven parishes that I served."
In what he calls a "semi retirement," he helps out at St. Patrick Parish, other nearby parishes and serves the Carmelite Sisters in Hudson. "I celebrate Mass frequently," Dabruzzi said.
Returning to his hometown to retire, Dabruzzi said it has changed from the tranquil place it was during his boyhood. "North Hudson and Hudson have become huge suburbs of the Twin Cities," he said.
"St. Patrick Parish now has 2,000 families. When I was a youngster North Hudson was a very quiet town of 600 people," he said.
Fr. George Votruba lived on a farm between Haugen and Rice Lake as a child and his family attended Holy Trinity Parish in Haugen. He and his siblings attended Holy Trinity School through the eighth grade. Benedictine sisters from Lisle, Ill., staffed the school.
"It was in school that I started thinking about my vocation," Votruba said.
It was in the first grade that the sisters gave vocation talks.
"All the boys said they were going to be priests," Votruba said. "I had no idea about being a priest in the first grade. I was going to be a milk hauler, but I changed my mind."
After two years at Rice Lake High School, he entered St. Procopius Academy in Lisle. Ill. He completed high school and his first two years of college seminary at St. Procopius.
Votruba attended this Benedictine run academy because of the early impression the Benedictine priests and sisters, caring for the Haugen parish and school, had on his life.
"At first I wanted to be a Benedictine priest," Votruba said. "I decided to change to the diocese priesthood because I found out Benedictines aren't usually in parishes. They teach and do other ministries and I wanted to be a parish priest."
Votruba was ordained at the cathedral in 1954.
Growing up one of 12 children on a dairy farm helped in his development as a priest.
"You have to be there in the early morning to milk the cows," Votruba said. "As a priest, you have to get up to say Mass. When I was first ordained, the Masses were all in the early morning."
The Votruba family stayed close to the rosary. "We regularly said the rosary during Lent and other special times in honor of Mary," he said.
Attending special services at his church helped in his faith growth.
"On Saturday night the parish had Benediction and prayed the rosary," Votruba said. "I went to confession weekly and it all helped me to build my faith."
During his youth, most residents in the Haugen area were Catholic.
"When I was growing up most of the families attended Holy Trinity Church," Votruba said. "There is only one Mass there now and we had two Masses when I was a kid."
During his childhood, the landscape of this area was dotted with many family farms. "But now the farms are bigger and there are fewer of them," Votruba said. "My brother Thomas still operates our family farm."
Building churches was included in the tasks of his ministry, among them was the St. John Church in Pelican Lake.
"I was an assistant at the time and would go there every day," Votruba said.
He also helped in the development of the Sheldon parish.
"At first a basement of a house was used for Mass," Votruba said. "We then built a church right next to the house."
This church was dedicated to St. Maria Goretti.
"Someone said they would give us $10,000 if we changed the name of the church to St. John the Apostle Church," Votruba said. "We took the money and changed the name."
Retired in 1998, Votruba resides near St. Joseph Church in Rice Lake. He celebrates Mass regularly there, at nearby parishes and at a number of other places across the diocese.
He loves being a priest.
"I'm very happy that I became a priest," Votruba said. "I loved all the work involved in being a priest, especially the Masses and devotions."
Fr. Joseph Kleinheinz was born in Wausau, Wis. After the death of his parents, he lived in the Tomahawk area for a time with a sister and brother-in-law.
Kleinheinz had several role models growing up that influenced his decision to become a priest.
"I admired several priests we had in Wausau and wanted to be like them," he said. "My family was also influential, I have two sisters and a cousin that are Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration."
He was one of 12 children. His family said prayers and went to St. Mary Church in Wausau. He attended the parish school through the eighth grade.
"We said prayers and often went to church," Kleinheinz said. "We attended weekly devotions and daily Mass during the school year. We said the rosary at times and had our meal and evening prayers."
He entered the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, in ninth grade. It was during his time in the seminary that Kleinheinz decided to be ordained a priest for the Diocese of Superior.
"The main reason I asked to come to Superior, rather than the La Crosse diocese, was even at that time, I thought the need for priests was greater there," Kleinheinz said.
He was ordained in 1954.
As a young assistant priest, he came to admire the late Fr. Joseph Higgins.
"I was his assistant in River Falls," Kleinheinz said. "I thought he was a very sincere priest. He worked hard and was very friendly."
Higgins, a native of Superior, was ordained at the Cathedral of Christ the King in 1946. He was pastor of St. Bridget Parish in River Falls from 1956 until 1961 and again from August 1962, until he was assigned to St. Peter the Fisherman Parish in Eagle River in 1970. He died in 1974.
During his time as a priest, Kleinheinz helped supervise the building of Holy Rosary Church in Mellen.
Having retired from active ministry in 1996, Kleinheinz lives in Merrill. He offers to help parishes in Merrill and Wausau areas.
Kleinheinz loves being able to administer the sacraments, enjoys preaching and counseling.
"Next to God, there is no other reason for me to be a priest without the people that I serve," he said.
Kleinheinz said being a priest is a great life.
"I wouldn't change it for the world," he said. "As long as I am capable, I will help out whenever I can."
© Superior Catholic Herald, 2004