Story by Mary Kroner
LINCOLN (SNR) – Hebrews 7:17 says, “Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek.”
The priests of the Diocese of Lincoln will come together at the annual Chrism Mass to honor priests celebrating their jubilees Monday, April 11 at 5 p.m. Bishop James Conley will celebrate the Mass at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ, 3500 Sheridan Blvd., Lincoln. All are invited to attend.
At the Mass, Bishop Conley will consecrate and bless the sacred oils used in administering the sacraments, the most important of which is Chrism. Chrism is used in Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders. It is unique in that it can only be consecrated by a bishop.
The other two oils the bishop will bless include the Oil of the Sick, used in Anointing of the Sick, and the Oil of Catechumens, used in the sacrament of Baptism.
At this Mass, the priests of the diocese will also renew the priestly vows made at their ordinations.
In many places around the world, the Chrism Mass is celebrated on Holy Thursday, the day that Jesus instituted the priesthood at the Last Supper. In the Diocese of Lincoln, the annual Chrism Mass is held on Monday of Holy Week, due to the large area the diocese covers. The Lincoln Diocese covers more than 23,000 square miles, larger than the country of Switzerland. By moving the Mass to the Monday of Holy Week, it is easier for the priests of the diocese to travel to Lincoln for the Mass, and return to their parishes for Holy Week celebrations.
The Chrism Mass is also an opportunity for eight of the diocese’s clergy to celebrate milestone anniversaries, known as jubilees.
This year, all six jubilarians marking 25 years were ordained in 1997 by Emeritus Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz, who is celebrating the 30th anniversary of his ordination as a bishop.
After the Mass, the priests of the diocese will recognize all jubilarians at a special dinner with their brother priests.
St. John Vianney, patron of priests, pray for us!
Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz
30 Years of Episcopal Consecration
Born and raised in Milwaukee, Bishop Bruskewitz was ordained a priest in Rome in 1960. He served as an assistant pastor in parishes near Milwaukee, and then did graduate work at the Gregorian University in Rome, where he received a doctorate in Dogmatic Theology in 1969. He taught for a brief time at St. Francis Seminary, and then worked in the Congregation for Catholic Education, a department of the Holy See, in Rome, for 11 years. He was named a Monsignor in 1976 and elevated to Prelate of Honor 1980.
In 1992, he was named the eighth Bishop of the Diocese of Lincoln. He was consecrated a bishop and installed in the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln. For his episcopal motto, he chose the words Sub Tuum Praesidium, the opening words to the prayer, “We fly to thy patronage, Oh Holy Mother of God.”
“I inherited a wonderful diocese from Bishop Glennon Flavin,” Bishop Bruskewitz said. “If anything good happened it was because he laid a good foundation.”
In 1995, he inaugurated a year of reflection, teaching and adoration of the Eucharistic Lord by promoting parish prayers and days of devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, a diocesan pilgrimage to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and the year culminating in a Eucharistic Congress Mass with approximately 5,000 people in attendance.
The sponsorship of the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital was assumed by the diocese to preserve its local ownership and the Catholic nature of this well-known rehabilitation facility. A new college seminary, St. Gregory the Great in Seward opened in the diocese in 1998. Among other events, Bishop Bruskewitz greeted the arrival of a group of Carmelite nuns in the diocese, and in 2000, he welcomed the opening of Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter in Denton.
Under Bishop Bruskewitz’s leadership as Bishop of Lincoln, the following schools and parishes were opened: All Saints School in Holdrege; North American Martyrs School and Parish in Lincoln; St. Vincent DePaul School in Seward; St. Michael School in Lincoln; St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in North Platte; St. Katharine Drexel Parish in Franklin; St. Andrew Dung Lac & Companions Parish in Lincoln; and Cristo Rey Parish in Lincoln.
Bishop Bruskewitz submitted his letter of retirement to Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 for bishops. Pope Benedict accepted his resignation Sept. 14, 2012, and appointed Bishop James D. Conley as his successor.
Fr. Dennis Hotovy
65 years a Priest
Born in Seward, Father Dennis Hotovy will celebrate his 65th jubilee this year. He was ordained in 1957, and served his first assignment as assistant pastor at Assumption Parish in Dwight. In 1959, he was appointed assistant pastor at Ss. Peter and Paul Church in Falls City.
In 1962, he began serving at St. Teresa in Lincoln as parochial vicar. He also taught at Pius X High School. In 1966, he served at the mission parishes Julian, Dunbar and Peru. He also served St. James in Curtis, St. William in Wellfleet and St. Joseph in Farnam.
He was pastor of St. Mary Parish in Wymore and St. Joseph in Barneston beginning in 1977 and added St. Mary Parish in Odell in 1986.
Father Hotovy retired in 2011 and resides in Beatrice.
Fr. Patrick Murphy,
55 Years a Priest
Father Murphy, celebrating 55 years as a priest this year, was born and raised in Lincoln.
He credits Catholic schools for cultivating his vocation and preparing him for his seminary formation because he was taught by priests and religious sisters.
He was ordained in the Cathedral May 27, 1967 before serving as assistant pastor at St. Wenceslaus in Wahoo. He then taught at Pius X High School in Lincoln and later at St. Cecilia High School in Hastings.
From 1973 to 1977, Father Murphy was assigned to the diocesan mission in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. When he returned to the Lincoln Diocese, he served as pastor of 13 different parishes across the diocese.
Father Murphy said his favorite part of the priesthood was being in the parish, getting to know people and working with them. He also emphasized the importance of offering Mass and celebrating the sacrament of Reconciliation for priests.
“The Mass helped me every day, and it was a blessing to be able to forgive sins. These things make a big difference in the life of the priest,” Father Murphy said.
He also took on many different roles throughout the rest of his active priesthood. In 1985, he was appointed spiritual advisor of the St. Anthony Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order in Lincoln. In 1993, he was named Dean of the York Deanery and began teaching at Aquinas High School in David City. Father Murphy was appointed chaplain at St. Elizabeth Community Health Center in 1996 and chaplain to the Secular Franciscans of Lincoln before being appointed director of the Apostolate of Suffering for the diocese in 2001.
He was pastor of St. Patrick in Manley and St. Mary in Elmwood from 2006 until his retirement in 2016. He currently lives at Bonacum House in Lincoln.
“The Chancery has been very good about sending priests to the Bonacum House to support us retired priest in different ways,” he said.
Father Murphy also praised the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George who care for the priests at Bonacum house.
To celebrate 55 years as a priest is pretty special, as Father Murphy said.
“I’m so thankful to be an ordained priest for 55 years. It’s not just up to the individual, there has to be a connection with God in order to be ordained a priest and do the work of the priesthood. He’s not only allowed me and led me to become a priest, but He’s what I look forward to now, to be with God forever.”
Fr. Ferdinand Boehme
25 Years a Priest
Born in Seattle, Father Boehme was raised in a Catholic family. Attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he began attending daily Mass at the Newman Center and came to a greater belief in the Real Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist. In 1991, he resigned from his job to attend the seminary to discern his call to the priesthood.
He served as a deacon at St. Peter Parish in Lincoln in 1996 before his ordination. His first appointment was as parochial vicar at St. Patrick, St. Ann and Sacred Heart parishes in McCook. In 1999, Father Boehme began to serve St. James in Curtis, St. Joseph in Farnam, and St. William in Wellfleet.
In 2011, he served St. Mary in Wymore, St. Joseph in Barneston, and St. Mary in Odell. He was appointed pastor of St. Joseph in Superior and Sacred Heart in Nelson in 2018 before being appointed Dean of the Lawrence Deanery in 2021.
To support priests in their ministry, Father Boehme said he encourages people to pray for priests and to help with parish projects so that pastors do not have to do everything by themselves.
Praying for vocations is essential, according to Father Boehme. He also pointed out that to encourage vocations, Catholics should simply tell young people to consider being a priest or religious in an authentic way.
Another way he suggested to support vocations is to give summer jobs to seminarians or encourage Knights of Columbus councils to donate money to support seminarians.
Fr. K. William Holoubek
25 Years a Priest
Father Holoubek was born in West Point, and discovered after working as an application engineer that God had something more in mind for his life. After the death of his older brother, he said he had an encounter with God that prompted him to commit to praying about God’s will for his life. With the guidance of a priest who had helped bring Father Holoubek’s brother back to the Church, he discerned his call to the priesthood.
“God made it clear to me that to help heal the wounds in the body of Christ I needed to be a priest so I could administer healing grace of the sacraments,” Father Holoubek said.
His first assignment was as parochial vicar of St. Michael in Hastings, as well as teacher at St. Cecilia Middle/High School. In 1999, he was appointed pastor of St. Joseph in Colon and St. Mary in Cedar Bluffs, as well as teacher at Bishop Neumann in Wahoo. In 2002, he began to serve as pastor of St. Joseph in Harvard and St. Mary in Sutton, as well as teacher at Hastings Catholic Schools. After that assignment, he was appointed pastor of St. Helena Parish in Grafton. In 2017, he began serving St. Mary in Ashland and St. Joseph in Greenwood. He has served as director of Pontifical Mission Societies since 2002.
“I am very grateful for God’s generous call to me to share in the priesthood of His Son Jesus Christ. I am thankful for His incredible patience with me and the overwhelming protection He has given to me,” Father Holoubek said.
He also wanted to express his thanks to his family and all those in the diocese who have walked with him during his 25 years as a priest, especially the priests and bishops who have offered him support.
“I am grateful to the Blessed Mother, St Joseph, my guardian angel and the many saints and angels who have helped me follow Jesus in doing the Father’s will and coming to know His love.”
To support priests in their ministry, Father Holoubek encouraged Catholics to pray for their priests on a regular basis.
“Another way is to simply try to share their life with friendship and kindness,” Father Holoubek suggested. “Priests are human and can also have much human weakness, thus they have a need for family, friends and parishioners to walk with them through the journey of life.”
Fr. Joseph Steele
25 Years a Priest
Father Joseph Steele, born in Owensboro, Ky., recalled his experience of hearing a call to the priesthood when he was in the eighth grade.
“My father asked me if I would consider being a priest, and I remember saying, ‘no, I don’t think so.’”
However, his father’s question planted a seed in Father Steele’s soul and while he did not know at the time, he later learned that God was calling him to be a priest through that conversation with his father. God’s call grew stronger through Father Steele’s young adult life, and he decided to enter the seminary where he discovered that he liked it very much.
His first assignment as a priest was in 1997 as parochial vicar at St. John the Apostle Parish in Lincoln, as well as teacher at Pius X High School. In 1998, he was appointed parochial vicar at Church of the Holy Spirit in Plattsmouth. He began serving Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Grant in 2000, before also being appointed pastor of Resurrection in Elsie.
From 2004 to 2016, he served as pastor of Presentation Parish in Bellwood and teacher at St. Mary/Aquinas in David City. In 2016, he was appointed chaplain at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, where he is currently serving.
To support priests in their ministry, he said, “The biggest thing is praying for priests. There is a real spiritual battle and I do believe that priests are under attack in many ways.”
He also encouraged people to welcome priests into their homes and family life so that they are not always alone in their rectories.
To foster vocations, Father Steele emphasized the importance of teaching children how to really pray and have a personal relationship with Jesus.
“You can educate people all you want but if you don’t teach them how to pray, the real heart-to-heart kind of prayer, you’ve lost the whole purpose of Catholic education. I think that will spur on vocations,” Father Steele said. “It’s also important just to ask young people, because that really plants seeds.”
Fr. Kenneth Hoesing
25 Years a Priest
Born in Sioux City, Iowa, Father Kenneth Hoesing, said he would never have planned on being a priest.
“Some friends of mine in college were going into the seminary and I wondered if I was missing out on something. So God called me through that and I decided to give it a whirl. I never quite knew what I wanted to do with my life, which was telling, looking back.”
Ordained as a deacon in 1996, Father Hoesing served at St. Mary in Lincoln. In 1997, he was appointed to serve as parochial vicar of St. Patrick in Lincoln and teacher at Pius X High School. In 1999, he was appointed parochial vicar of Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln and assistant master of ceremonies. He served as pastor of St. Mary in Davey from 2000 to 2004. After that assignment, he was appointed pastor of St. Michael in Fairbury and St. Mary in Alexandria.
In 2008, he was appointed pastor of St. Francis Parish, Center, and superintendent of Aquinas/St. Mary Schools in David City. In 2011, he began serving as pastor of St. Mary in Dawson and St. Anne in Shubert, as well as a teacher at Sacred Heart in Falls City. He served as dean of the Falls City Deanery from 2015-2019.
Father Hoesing said teaching in Catholic schools has been the constant throughout his priesthood and is something he has always enjoyed. It also helps him with his preaching on the weekends.
He suggested praying for priests to support them in their ministry.
“You can’t do that enough and we always appreciate it. We just need it. We priests pray for our people but we need people praying for us,” he said.
He suggested prayer for vocations as well.
“If you want priests in your churches, they don’t grow on trees or come out of thin air, they come from families. Pray for vocations. The vocations are there but the call has to be answered. Help others discern and answer the call.”
Father Hoesing said he could not believe how fast 25 years has gone by, and he also had some thoughts to share about the Christian life.
“We priests always have something in the Bible we go back to and mine is loaves and fishes. There are times you wonder how something is going to work out, but you give it whatever meager effort you can and things are blessed and multiplied. Give the Lord the little you’ve got and He will take care of it.”
Fr. Craig Doty
25 Years a Priest
Father Craig Doty, born in Fridley, Minn., heard his call to the priesthood when he was an engineering student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
“Having been so formed by mathematics, science, and engineering until that point, I was appreciating how logical, reasonable, and true our faith is, and the inter-connectedness between those truths. In fact, the excitement of understanding my Catholic faith more deeply really pulled my mind and heart away from the study of engineering, but I also think I was getting tired of formulas and numbers!” he said.
He credits his holy hours and the friendships he formed at the Newman Center with making a significant impact on his faith journey and his relationship with God.
“No doubt the prayers of my family, friends, the Pink Sisters, and others were supporting me at the time,” Father Doty said.
He decided he wanted to study the faith more in depth, which was what prompted him to “give the seminary a try.”
“I figured I couldn’t go wrong by giving the Lord at least one year of my life to discern the priesthood,” he said.
He served as a deacon at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in 1996 before being appointed parochial vicar of St. Peter in Lincoln and teacher at Pius X High School for his first assignment. He also served as the assistant spiritual director of the Legion of Mary in the diocese before being appointed to study Canon Law at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome in 1999.
When he returned to the Diocese of Lincoln, he served St. Mary in Aurora and St. Joseph in Giltner and was appointed to be a tribunal judge for five years. In 2005 he served at St. Wenceslaus Parish in Wilber and St. Joseph in Tobias. From 2007 to 2018, served as Adjutant Judicial Vicar for the Lincoln Diocesan Tribunal.
From 2010 to 2018, Father Doty was co-vicar for religious. In 2018, he was appointed director of the Lincoln Equipping Team for Prayer and Healing, judge for the diocesan tribunal as well as pastor of St. Peter Parish in Lincoln. In 2020, he began serving as pastor of St. Mary in Denton.
Father Doty urged parishioners to pray for their priests and thank them as the Spirit leads.
To support priestly vocations, he suggested encouraging young men to ask God if they should “give the seminary a try” and to understand that the decision to enter the seminary does not have to be the decision to become a priest; it is the place to discern the call.
Father Doty said, “I praise and give thanks to Almighty God for the gift of the priesthood, and I am very grateful for the guidance and support that our bishops, my brother priests, my family, and my parishioners have given me over these past 25 years.”
Fr. Jeremy Hazuka
25 Years a Priest
Born in Omaha, Father Jeremy Hazuka started thinking about the priesthood in the second grade when his parish got a new pastor, whom he admired. He said he thought about being a priest on and off through high school, but in college he thought about it more seriously when the chaplains at the Newman Center broached the possibility with him. He added that he was also getting tired of the homework for his engineering studies.
He served as a deacon at Holy Spirit Parish in Plattsmouth in 1996. When he was ordained a priest, he was appointed parochial vicar at St. Joseph in Lincoln. He also taught at Pius X High School. In 1999, he began serving St. Wenceslaus in Wahoo and teaching at Bishop Neumann Jr.-Sr. High School. He also served as a spiritual director for the Legion of Mary and Apostolate of Prayer consecration to the Sacred Heart.
From 1999 to 2000, he served as chaplain for the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, Court of Our Lady of Peace #1956 in Wahoo. In 2000, he served as pastor of St. Peter and St. Joseph parishes in Bellwood, and taught at Aquinas High School in David City. He began serving St. Benedict in Nebraska City in 2006 and was appointed principal of Lourdes Central High School.
In 2011, he was appointed diocesan director of the Legion of Mary. In 2017, he began to serve as pastor at St. Michael in Hastings and as chaplain to the Hastings Regional Center. He was appointed dean of the Hastings deanery in 2019.
To support priests in their ministry, Father Hazuka said, “Don’t be afraid to approach a priest with suggestions, but be patient with him. If someone approaches the pastor with a new idea, that person should be ready to carry it out for the pastor to completion.”
To foster vocations, Father Hazuka suggested just asking young people and offering subtle or not-so-subtle hints.
“God knows where I would be if another priest didn’t ask me to consider the idea. God, in His providence, has blessed me with His plan. Families that pray as a family and that are open to a religious or priestly vocation are important, too.”
