(SNR) – Br. Frantisek Marie Chloupek, CFR, will be ordained a priest May 29 in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, for the Community of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.
Chloupek will then celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving Sunday, June 20, at 3 p.m. in St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church / Newman Center in Lincoln.
Br. Frantisek Marie, raised Eric Chloupek, was a member of St. Joseph Parish in Harvard, by his parents Randy and Shelly, with a brother and a sister. He graduated from Harvard High School and attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
During the summer he was at UNL, Chloupek explained, his parents generously funded what he thought was going to be a “vacation” in Italy and France.
“However, I was in for a surprise,” he said. “It was on that trip that I discovered St. Francis and Franciscans in Assisi. Rather than a vacation, it turned out to be a pilgrimage, and the destination was the Lord calling me to a Franciscan vocation.”
With the help of his spiritual director Father Christopher Kubat, Chloupek decided to make a vocation visit to the CFRs in New York.
The CFRs provide a variety of ministries including serving the poor, street evangelization, parish missions, retreats, days of recollection, pilgrimages, spiritual direction, pastoral counseling, religious education, and celebrating the sacraments.
The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal were founded in 1987 by eight Franciscan friars, and today number more than 140. Their primary mission is “a wholehearted embracing of Jesus Christ and our Holy Father St. Francis.” The CFRs have several friaries in New York City, as well as New Jersey, New Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Great Britain, and Ireland.
“I discovered that it is possible for a small-town Nebraskan to survive in New York!” Chloupek said. “I will admit that it was a very difficult decision to leave the diocese. However, I have felt the Lord blessing that missionary call that led me away from home and into the wilderness.”
He spent five years of initial formation with the CFRs in New York, New Jersey, and Limerick, Ireland, before making final vows in 2015. He attended seminary at St. Joseph Seminary - Dunwoodie in Yonkers, N.Y., where many priests from the Diocese of Lincoln attended seminary in the 1990s and the early 2000s.
Chloupek said the strong foundation in the faith provided by his parents was crucial to his vocation.
“Without this, I wouldn’t be here,” he said. Attending Sunday Mass was part of who they were as a family, he added. “And my parents taught us that faith isn’t just about doing the minimum, but taking an active part in the life of the Church.”
Both of his parents were active at St. Joseph Parish, teaching CCD and assisting with parish administration. Chloupek also mentioned various diocesan events that nourished his faith, such as the summer camps brought to Harvard by the School Sisters of Christ the King, diocesan canoe trips and ski trips, SKY Camps and TEC retreats.
He said his experience at the Newman Center while attending UNL also played a decisive role in his vocation.
“I can’t be thankful enough to Father (Robert) Matya, Father (Brian) Kane, Father (Jay) Buhman, and Father (Benjamin) Holdren for all that they did during that time to make the Newman Center a place where vocations are nourished, not to mention the students and staff,” Br. Frantisek Marie said. “The Newman Center is where I attended so many Masses and Eucharistic holy hours, praying and listening for God’s voice.”
Ultimately, God’s voice led him to the CFRs through Saint Francis, and he encouraged young men who feel a pull toward St. Francis or religious life to visit the CFRs.
“And if you call our vocation line, you just might hear the friendly voice of a Nebraskan, Father Angelus,” he said. Lincoln natives Rusty (now Father Angelus) and Scott (now Father Innocent) Montgomery are CFR priests, and there are many other Nebraska connections among the community as well.
When he is ordained, Chloupek said, he most looks forward to celebrating Mass as a priest.
“For a long time I’ve had a love for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, so the simple yet profound act of celebrating Mass excites me,” he said. He explained that St. Francis, who was never ordained a priest himself, “had a remarkable sense of reverence towards priests because it is through them that we receive the Body and Blood of our Lord.”
“I look forward to continuing to minister to the people we serve in poor areas,” Chloupek said. “Although much of my life as a friar will remain the same, I am open to however God will use my priesthood to serve the Church.”
Br. Frantisek Marie is, thus far, the only priestly vocation from Harvard. However, he pointed out, there is another Franciscan vocation from the parish: Sr. M. Ignatia Cooney, who joined the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George.
“I am so thankful that I grew up in a small parish like St. Joseph’s in Harvard,” he said. “There is a wonderfully intimate experience of the Catholic faith that a small-town parish provides. I was able to serve as an altar boy so often at Mass, stations of the cross, funerals, et cetera. I look forward to celebrating Mass there!”
Live stream of the May 29 ordination Mass will be available at https://saintpatrickscathedral.org/live.
