‘May God’s will be done’
By Reagan Scott
for the Register
For parents, having the opportunity to see their children embrace the vocation that God has called them to marks the culmination of years of prayer and sacrifice. While most will see their children married, a more select group will get to celebrate calls to the priesthood or religious life.
Even more rare, though, is the opportunity to celebrate multiple ordinations from the same family, let alone two siblings. But as of Saturday, May 24, with the ordination of Father Isaac Wahlmeier, six families in the Lincoln Diocese can celebrate such a blessing.
These brothers include Father Isaac Wahlmeier and his brother, Father Joseph Wahlmeier, who was ordained in 2020; Fathers Matthew and Jeffrey Eickhoff, who were ordained in 1989 and 1995, respectively; Fathers Andrew and Christian Schwenka, ordained in 2019 and 2022; Monsignor Daniel and Fathers Mark and Leo Seiker ordained in 1987, 1984 and 1991; Fathers Evan and Dominic Winter ordained in 2016 and 2022; and Fathers Matthew and Michael Zimmer, ordained in 2011 and 2012.
(Story continues below)
For Father Isaac Wahlmeier, the opportunity to see his brother begin his journey to the priesthood was a major factor in discerning his own vocation. He said that visiting Father Joseph when he was attending St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward brought the seminary that much closer to his purview, and getting to visit Father Joseph while he studied in Rome was a huge ‘trust booster’ for him.
Likening it to the communion of saints, Father Isaac said, “Where you see the witness of one person, it’s an instrument for God to increase the trust in your own life, and the confidence you have in his will and his love for you.”
Father Joseph Wahlmeier was studying as a seminarian in Rome when he first heard his brother Isaac planned to enter into the seminary, as well. He described his reaction to the news as being both surprised, and not, at the same time.
“It kind of felt like my own vocation,” he said. “I didn’t really think about being a priest, especially until college, but when the call came, it just made so much sense.”
Looking back, both Father Joseph and Father Isaac can see how the example that their parents Patrick and Debbie set for them led them to where they are today.
Married more than 45 years, Patrick and Debbie are the parents to 15 children and 29 grandchildren. When Debbie Wahlmeier donned her wedding dress all those years ago, she didn’t know that one day Father Isaac would have lace from the dress included in the albs that he would wear for his diaconate and priestly ordinations.
“It makes me feel like a part of his dad and I will be with him at every Mass,” Debbie said. “As he does the Lord’s work, we can be with him.”
Debbie said she’s been asked if she knew that her sons had a calling to the priesthood when they were young. Her response is that she didn’t know what God’s plan was for any of her children, but she prayed that they would find it.
As for the prayer she would pray as the mother of a seminarian? Simply this: “May God’s will be done.”
“I don’t think a parent has the power to make a vocation or make it happen, whatever that vocation is, but let it happen. Let God make it clear to your children,” Debbie said.
Reflecting on Father Isaac’s ordination, Debbie said that she and her husband feel very blessed, and see it as an affirmation of the power of the sacrament of marriage, how God blesses it and can make so much good come out of it.
This is something that Father Isaac Wahlmeier said he can see play out in the lives of his siblings who are married and embracing their own vocation of self-giving love.
He said, “That goodness that my parents have is manifested in them too, and it multiplies. By giving themselves away to their children and their families, they just become more of who they are, more of who they’re meant to be.”
Father Joseph Wahlmeier said that growing up, his parents put him and his siblings in the near occasion of virtue, praying the rosary together often, and challenging them to serve the Lord in different ways, whether through volunteer time, attending Sky Camp or serving at Mass, which taught them to always be ready to give of themselves.
“I think that probably lends itself to growing in the ability to answer the call to a vocation, to hear it and know that ‘I’ll be able to give of myself in this way as well,’” he said.
This family involvement in the Church was something that Father Matthew and Jeffrey Eickhoff experienced growing up as well.
The sons of Larry and Joan Eickhoff, Fathers Matthew and Jeffrey grew up members of Holy Cross Parish in Omaha. The two have an older brother who passed away three years ago, and two sisters who are married with children.
“My parents were very involved in the parish and involved us kids as much as that was feasible when we were small,” Father Matthew said.
Sometimes that meant answering the phone at the rectory for a dollar an hour, or serving as substitutes for the priest’s cook. The family always attended Mass, participated in stations of the cross, parish missions and retreats, and prayed the rosary together regularly.
In addition to their shared childhood experiences and priesthood, Father Matthew and Father Jeffrey Eickhoff share some unique skills and interests as well. The two have a music and juggling act that they’ve performed in 20 of the diocese’s schools over the years, and they’re known for their six-course gourmet Italian meals, which have brought in thousands of dollars at auctions for Catholic institutions over the years.
The two had the opportunity to study in Rome, where they walked to class together once a week and they have shared in travels throughout Italy.
Father Matthew and Father Jeffrey Eickhoff celebrate the anniversary of their ordination on the same day, May 27, and Father Matthew said he enjoys getting to share the simple joys of the priesthood with someone as close as a brother.
“We’ve really enjoyed sharing all of the family Catholic celebrations, like the sacraments,” Father Matthew said. “We’ve taken turns baptizing our nephews and our niece, we’ve been to their first communions, confirmations, Catholic weddings, anniversary celebrations of our aunts and uncles and celebrated funerals.”
Their experience might give them a glimpse of what the Wahlmeiers will experience for themselves as they live out their lives as priests and brothers.
“There’s definitely a brotherhood of priests in our diocese,” Father Joseph Wahlmeier said. “The priests are especially close… so to join that with a brother priest I think makes it all the more special. And I think it only helps grow the brotherhood of our presbyterate.”
