A Year for Priests

My favorite priest is Bishop Anthony Milone. He is my favorite because he is very holy. He is a great role model when it comes to religion and the Catholic faith. Bishop is the best priest ever because he makes mass fun and makes the homily understandable. Bishop Milone is very fun to talk to. He is very nice too.

Bishop Anthony Milone was born on September 24, 1932. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1957. He was ordained a bishop in 1982. He then was appointed to Great Falls, Montana in 1987 and stayed there until 2006. He is currently at St. Bernadette’s in Bellevue, Nebraska.

Rebecca Hamata

Hello, my name is Hannah Louise Zimmerer! I interviewed my big brother
Nathan. I asked him about who his favorite priest is and why. Nate’s story is very interesting.

Nathan Allen Zimmerer was in seventh grade at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School and was sort of getting drawn away from his faith. He missed Mass often and didn’t really want to even talk about his faith. Nathan wasn’t doing well at OLL.  Weeks passed and towards the end of the school year Nate’s mother decided that he and his sister Hannah (that’s me!) were going to switch schools for his eighth grade year and go to St. Bernadette. Since then it has all turned around for Nathan! =)

At St. Bernadette Nathan’s faith got turned around. He met Fr. Al Salanitro. Nathan was drawn to him over the course of the school year and Fr. Al did the same. They talked all the time, in the hallways, before school, after school, after Mass. They just felt comfortable with each other. Fr. Al was there for Nathan, whether it was with a Confirmation question or a problem in life, he was always around. I guess you could say that Fr. Al helped Nathan get back on track with his faith. Nathan is now always going to church and he really understands the meaning of faith. Now that Nathan has gone to Gross Catholic High School, Fr. Al misses him and is always asking about him, and I know that Nathan misses him too.

Christian Bertagni Interviews His Stepmother

My step mom’s  favorite priest is Father Val Peter. Father Val was the head of Boys Town. She admires Father Val because he makes kids’ lives better. The kids Father Val works with have had difficult lives and through tough love teaches them to be productive adults. Listening to Father Peter talk he always has a message that is down to earth and practical for daily life. The message that he gives is not only for kids but adults as well.

Not only does Father Val work with kids at Boys Town but takes his message into the community. I have seen him with kids from Boys Town at different places in Omaha. He is trying to teach the kids how to act as socially responsible adults. This shows how much he really cares for the kids he works with.

In conclusion, Father Val Peter is an amazing priest. Through his caring ways and inspirational message he touches the lives of many people. I love listening to him speak and watching him interact with his kids. The Catholic Church is very lucky to have a priest like Father Val Peters.

Fr. Al Interviewed by Rebecca Hamata

My (Fr. Al) favorite priest is Father Mike Grewe. He is a pastor at St. Patrick’s in Gretna, Nebraska. Fr. Mike is my favorite priest because he was good with people and great with kids and that was exactly how I wanted to be. He was my mentor when I was studying to be a priest.  I went to go teach at the high school I went to and during that time we went to hospitals and nursing homes together and we said Mass together. He had to be with me to see if I was “worthy enough” to be a priest or if I was doing what a priest does the right way.  Father Mike and I have been great friends for a long time. I also like him because he is the Vicar General. This is, an easy way to put it, second in command. If something would happen to the Archbishop, like if he would get in a car crash or get cancer, Fr. Mike would take his place until Rome would find a new archbishop.

I interviewed my mom on who her favorite priest is…

She said her favorite priest is Fr. Dan Soltys. Fr. Dan used to be the pastor of St. Bernadette from 1988-1995. He is now the pastor at St. Joan of Arc in Omaha, Nebraska and has been for the past 2 years.

There are many reasons my mom likes Fr. Dan. She likes him because he is a close family friend. Sometimes he stops by my family’s cabin just to say “hi”. He is very nice and cares for everyone. Fr. Dan came up to the hospital when my uncle had cancer. Fr. Dan also baptized my sister Emily and I. He is very good at saying the homilies. He explains everything clearly and everyone can understand what he is saying. My mom has learned about God and Jesus from other priests, but Fr. Dan helped her the most.

Jessica Talbott

My Mother’s Favorite Priest by Kevin Handzlik

I interviewed my mother and asked her who her favorite priest was and she said Monsignor John S uricek. My mother liked Fr. John because my grandma and aunt went to St. Peter and Paul Catholic grade school, so my mother went there for catholic education like my aunt and grandmother went too. My mother really admired his loyalty and his holiness to God and to others.
Monsignor was a positive Catholic role model with my mom’s family and in the South Omaha community for many years. My mother had him for religion classes from the age of six to eleven. He retired after forty years of service. For many years Monsignor Juricek saw the need for a larger and more comfortable home for the Sisters who taught at Sts. Peter and Paul, so he encouraged his parishioners and planned and saved toward that end. Finally his plans were realized when, on August 15, 1948 Archbishop Gerald T. Bergan blessed the new convent. For all of that my mother thanks Monsignor John S Juricek for all of the work he put into the community.

My Dad’s Favorite Priest by Elizabeth Chandler

I would have to say that my favorite priest is Father Paschal Jong-A-keim. The reason I like him is that he is compassionate and caring. I like him better than most priests because Fr. Paschal is filled with the Holy Spirit. Fr. Paschal has been there as a family friend and as a priest. One of the times was when my wife was pregnant with Matthew she had a lot of complications. We thought that she was going to have a miscarriage. We told Fr. Paschal and he blessed Matthew. After he blessed Matthew he moved in response. Although, Matthew was born with jaundice, a yellowing of the skin, he was still very healthy. He blessed my daughter, Mary Lynn; she was going into a major surgery and thought it was necessary. He was concerned for her. After he blessed her he blessed our house. Fr. Paschal blessed my mother and she lived longer than expected. He was there for me and my family once she died. He really cares and looks out for my family I appreciate everything he has done for us I feel extremely blessed.

I met Father Paschal at church during my adoration hour. I started to talk to him and he was very nice. I would get in trouble with my wife for staying so long. After he left St. Bernadette he went to Intercessors of the Lamb. He was a priest part time at St. James. We still stay in touch and he comes to visit a lot.

Another one from Victoria McNamara.

My favorite priest is Father Dick Steinhilbur. He is a member of the Columban Fathers.  He married my parents and baptized me. He was an editor of the Columban Father’s Magazine. Now he is a retired editor. Fr. Dick is a very smart man. He has a PhD in Canon Law. He took classes to get his PhD in Rome. All of his classes were in Latin. He was a superior general of the Columban missionaries all around the world for 6 years. Because he had to travel to all of the missionaries all around the world, Fr. Dick has been around the world 12 times. He was also the Director of Columban missionaries all over the United States. Fr. Dick is a very humble man. He also was a seminarian teacher in Boston.

Fr. Dick Steinhilbur is my favorite priest because he is a very special member of my family. He has known my Grandma and Grandpa Reed since 1976. My grandparents met him through marriage encounter. After my grandparents went through marriage encounter, Fr. Dick helped them teach it for 22 years. That is why Fr. Dick Steinhilbur is my favorite priest.

This comes to us from Victoria McNamara an 8th grader at St. Bernadette Catholic School in Bellevue, NE.

My favorite brother’s priest is Father Alfred Salanitro (a.k.a. Fr. Al). Fr. Al is a very “animated” priest. He went to school at St. Joan of Arc Catholic School in Omaha, NE. He attended Ryan High School and went to college at Wayne State for his PhD in Theology Degree. Fr. Al has a bachelors degree in theatre and has been in to many productions to count. He started a “Community theatre” program in 2007 when we did Oliver. He has also done The Prince and the Pauper in 2008 and Beauty and the Beast just this past summer. He has been in all of the productions as an active participant. He also started a theatre program at St. Bernadette and we have done Tom Sawyer in December of 2006, the Wizard of Oz in March of 2008 and Godspell in March and April of 2008. We will be doing Aladdin this spring.
Fr. AL is a good role model for the younger children because he is an active participant in and of celebrating the Eucharist. He goes to all of the classrooms during the week to have Religion Class. My brother is in Kindergarten and Fr. Al is one of his role models. That is why Fr. Alfred Salanitro is my brothers favorite priest.

From Trevor Nollett

My mom’s favorite priest is Father Emmett Meyer. My mom met Father Meyer when he was a priest at St. Bernadette. My parents went through pre-marriage classes with Father Meyer. He then married my parents on May 11th 1991. My mom says he has a great personality and a great sense of humor. He is very kind and always leads by example. He loves helping people out. He is now at the parish of St. Joan of Arc where my parent’s friends go to church. They also like Father Meyer a lot. My mom’s faith today is based on Father Meyer’s great knowledge of the Catholic Church.