MILWAUKEE — Nine men were ordained priests of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by Archbishop Jerome Listecki on Saturday. The ordainment was held in downtown Milwaukee at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.
This year’s ordination class is one of the largest in the nation, according to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. It is the largest class in Milwaukee since 1992.
Father Tim Kitzke is the rector of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. He said this ordination makes him reflect on his own ordainment, just over three decades ago.
“Thirty-five years ago on Monday is my anniversary and there were 12 of us, so we were the last huge class before this class, which is nine,” Kitzke said. “So, we are really proud and it was just a mixture of excitement, of nervousness, but I know from back then, it was just a sense of gift and kind of the unworthiness of the call.”
Kitzke said the fact that more priests are being ordained this year could be a sign of the times. He said he thinks young people, including new priests, are looking for some peace of mind.
“It’s kind of finding a steady line and a steady presence that will help you in the vagaries of a world that is hymned in by violence and disrespect and again partisan politics, which are such division,” Kitzke said. “I think people are looking for a certain unity of message, that indeed life matters and people matter.”
The cathedral was packed with friends and family beaming with pride for the soon-to-be Catholic priests.
Father Dominic Lazzaroni, formerly Deacon Lazzaroni, is one of the nine in this year’s class. He said he has noticed more young men are choosing the priesthood these days.
Lazzaroni said for him, he knew he wanted to be a priest in a single moment that he experienced at a retreat.
“At the end of this retreat, a priest kind of walked up to the stage and asked these thousands of kids there, ‘Is there any young man here who is considering being a priest?’ and I just stood up,” Lazzaroni explained. “I didn’t even know what I was doing.”
Lazzaroni said it’s about leaving his current life behind and beginning a new chapter.
“Really, it’s a time for you to lay down your life for the Lord once again, and when we go down on the floor and lay down prostrating ourselves, it’s that sign of dying to ourselves and allowing ourselves to be lifted up by the Lord as that new creation,” Lazzaroni said.
Kitzke said he has high hopes for this class and for the future.
“My hope for the priesthood is that we continue to grow and develop,” Kitzke said. “We have a lot of challenging things to face in the world and in the church and to realize that sense of priesthood, the mission to realize that we cannot turn inward.”
Kitzke added that, to him, it’s about turning outward and giving people purpose. He said it’s a hope he has for the world and for the nine newly ordained Milwaukee Catholic priests.
