Profiles
Contents of this page:
Seven Qualities for Today's Priest
Here are the characteristics that we are looking for in our priests. The ideal young man…
- Is an active Roman Catholic who depends on his personal relationship with God. Is committed to a life of prayer. Is able to confidently share his faith story with others. Is optimistic about life and has a desire to make a difference in this world. Is comfortable being in a leadership role. Is committed to the Church and Her teachings.
- Is able to compromise and work well with others while building a sense of community.
Candidates for the priesthood must also have an average to above average intellect and have a love for learning. And, of course, it never hurts to have a sense of humor!
If these hit home for you, I hope you contact me to discuss the possibilities of a priestly vocation. If you recognize these qualities in someone else, I hope you invite him to consider being a priest by simply asking him, "have you ever thought about the priesthood?…I think you have the qualities to be a good one!" The Church relies on all parishioners to call forth future ordained ministers. I hope you take the time to ask people to consider being a priest for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.
Profiles:
Father Patrick Beidelman | Father Michael O'Mara | Padre Miguel O'Mara |
Seminarian Jeremy Gries
Profile of a Diocesan Priest - Father Patrick Beidelman
By Sean Gallagher, The Criterion
Father Patrick Beidelman grew up around priests.
He discerned his own priestly vocation at a relatively young age and has followed the example of his early priestly models. But it was his own gifts in leadership that placed him in some unique positions of responsibility from an early time in his priestly life.
Currently the pastor of SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral Parish in Indianapolis and the archdiocesan director of liturgy, Father Beidelman, 33, grew up as a member of Holy Spirit Parish on Indianapolis’ east side.
He counts several priests and religious sisters as relatives and got to know many of them in his youth.
But the priest he said had the biggest impact on him was Father James Sweeney, who died in 1990 when Father Beidelman was a senior at Cathedral High School in Indianapolis.
“Father Jim became a Christ figure for me,” Father Beidelman said, “a person who helped me understand and know Christ more fully through the person he was, and what he said and did and the good relationship he shared with me and so many.”
Benedictine Father Noah Casey, pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Indianapolis, also was also a cousin of Father Sweeney and sees his influence on Father Beidelman.
“Pat is, by virtue of his personality, so outgoing, as was Father Jim, and he learned an awful lot just by watching him,” he said. “Father Jim was so well thought of and respected for his pastoral skills. I think that simply rubbed off a lot on Pat.”
Read more about Father Beidelman
Profile of a Diocesan Priest - Father Michael O'Mara
By Sean Gallagher, The Criterion
Nearly 20 years ago when he was a seminarian, Father Michael O’Mara had what might have seemed to have been an ordinary summer ministry assignment at Holy Cross Parish in Indianapolis.
Little did he know then that his experience there planted seeds that have born abundant fruit over the past six years while he has been pastor of St. Mary Parish in Indianapolis, a largely bilingual faith community.
“There were people at Holy Cross Parish in the neighborhood who only spoke Spanish,” Father O’Mara said. “That was a startling revelation. My desire to want to speak with these people started growing.”
That summer experience led Father O’Mara, who had minored in Spanish while a seminarian at Saint Meinrad College, to extend his studies. Near the end of his theological studies, he spent several months at the Mexican-American Cultural Center in San Antonio, Texas, where he grew in his knowledge of Spanish and learned much about the culture of Hispanic immigrants to the United States.
In his last year in the seminary, he also had an assignment to St. Mary, where he would be pastor, on weekends for several months.
Although he noted that he did not preach in Spanish at the parish, he said that the Hispanic community there at the time adopted him—some of them came to his diaconate ordination and sang at his Mass of Thanksgiving after his priestly ordination.
Despite all of this contact with the Hispanic community during his priestly formation, today Father O’Mara acknowledges that he could have never predicted the significance that ministry to and with them would have in his priestly life.
“I had no idea,” he said. “I never ever would have dreamed that I would be using Spanish in my ministry as my primary language. I never would have believed it.”
And if he had been led solely by his own inclinations, things may have been different.
Read more about Father O'Mara
Perfil de un Sacerdote - Padre Miguel O'Mara
Soy Miguel O'Mara. He sido ordenado por diez años para la archiodioses de Indianapolis. Soy de Greensburg, Indiana, donde me gradué de la escuela primeria Saint Mary y la escuela secundaria publica. Por un año y medio, assistí a la Universidad de Saint Joseph en Rensselaer, Indiana. Trabajé en el negocio de mi familia, O'Mara Foods, una pollería que suple restaurantes, supermercados, y negocios individuales del sur de Indiana. Tambien envuelto en politicas en el condado de Decatur (Decatur County). Y estaba corriendo para una silla en el consulado en 1980. Mis actividades incluian campar y viajar. Tengo una perra. Es un Labrador Retriever, se llama Twiggy. Me gusta escuchar a la música ranchera y latina. En 1981 empezé a pensar en el Sacerdocio. Fue una decisión muy dura, pero finalmente hice mi decisión de entrar en el seminario de Saint Meinrad para la Arquidiocesis de Indianapoplis. En mis años en Saint Meinrad estaba abierto a todo un nuevo mundo. Comencé a conocer las cosas, las personas y culturas que cambiaron mi vida. Particularmente ha sido muy significante para mi las oportunidades de poder servir a los paises del trecer mundo como Guatemala, El Salvador, Ecuador y México. Esas experiencias han formado la persona y el sacerdote que he llegado a ser. Al viajar mucho yo he conocido más la gente Hispana de aca en Indiana. Dondequiera que voy yo puedo conversar y servir en Espanol. Yo he encontrado que la profunda espiritualidad y la celebración en la cultura Hispana llena un vacío profundo dentro de mi. En mis 10 años como sacerdote he servido en los suburbios de Indianapolis, en el centro de la ciudad de Indianapolis, y en la Universidad de Indiana. Presentemente soy el parrocó de las Iglesias Santa Maria y San Patricio en Indianapolis. Las dos parroquias tienen una populación substancial Hispana. Sepan ustedes que siempre estan invitados a visitarme y ver lo que hago. Mi teléfono es: 317-637-3983 o 317-631-5824. Mi correo electronico es: momara@indy.net
Seminarian Profile - Jeremy Gries
By Sean Gallagher, The Criterion
Priests are sacramental signs of Christ. Seminarians become acquainted in their priestly formation with the multitude of ways that this identity is lived out.
Over the past year and a half, seminarian Jeremy Gries, a member of Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ Parish in Indianapolis, has been doing this at Saint Meinrad School of Theology in St. Meinrad.
One of the unique ways that Gries has learned that he can show Christ to others is through his work in the outdoors.
Gries is the student coordinator of Saint Meinrad’s Cooperative Action for Community Development (CACD). One of the main activities of this program is to distribute firewood split on the seminary’s campus to needy families in Perry, Spencer and Dubois counties in southern Indiana.
“It helps bring in the social justice aspect of being in the outdoors and doing physical labor,” said Gries.
But in addition to giving the love of Christ to others through service, Gries’ leadership in CACD also helps him develop skills that he will need in priestly ministry.
According to Benedictine Father Anthony Vinson, who helps oversee CACD, Gries coordinates the work of CACD’s more than 300 volunteers, which are drawn from both the seminary and the broader community. He also helps determine who receives the firewood that CACD distributes.
But these administrative duties don’t keep Gries from working up a sweat on the Saturdays when the wood is split.
Read more about Jeremy
Area where you would serve
Archdiocese of Indianapolis - For a more detailed look at the parishes of the archdiocese, please click on the map.