![]() Further strengthening his desire, Father Konopa knew that he had never led a youth group or even been a member of one. Knowing that a school assignment required teaching, Father Konopa desired a parish assignment because he had not taken education classes during his time at the Pontifical College. ![]() The diocesan bishop, guided by the Holy Spirit and parish needs, assigns new priests to either school systems or parishes. This year he celebrated his silver jubilee. Joseph the Workman Cathedral in La Crosse. Upon graduation, Bishop Burke ordained Father Konopa on June 27, 1998, at St. He then attended the Pontifical College of Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. His professors radiated with the light of Jesus, and he learned from amazing instructors of the Faith, one of them being Dr. Of all the places he lived, Franciscan University was the easiest place to live a Christian life. Brian graduated from Assumption High School and then studied at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. Father Joseph Hirsch, his parish pastor during his years at Assumption High School in Wisconsin Rapids, encouraged this growth. ![]() The path across Highway 54 to Mass became a road he traveled towards priesthood. And what I meant was that I will be a priest.”īrian continued to follow his calling. Because when I looked at that cross, I thought in my 8-year-old brain-If you did this for me then I will do this for you. “Recalling this moment even now causes me to still choke up. She asked us to look at the crucifix and to consider what Jesus has done for you and for me.” He pauses and reflects with emotion. She always taught from behind her desk, but one day she invited us to approach and sit, crossed-legged on a carpet, next to her at that desk in the front of the classroom.” Father Konopa continues, “She gave each of us a little plastic beige crucifix that probably cost no more than 5 or 10 cents. “Sister Loretta, one of the ‘strict’ ones, was preparing us for first confession. Peter and Paul Parish in Wisconsin Rapids. One of Father Konopa’s early formative moments happened as a second grader at Ss. “Lord Jesus, you are the only one I have – and that is enough.” I think that for them to send me, their firstborn, over that road, was an act of trust.” Father Konopa reflects on those bike rides and his parents, saying, “The route required me to cross Highway 54, twice. ![]() Getting to and from Mass on his bike wasn’t a simple task. But the altar serving continued, and his Faith and sense of service grew. The mode of transportation was steeply downgraded the following summer from his dad’s Gran Torino to Brian’s bike. But, I was, and he graciously stepped aside so I could serve.”īrian’s dad, in his burnt orange Gran Torino, began taking him to daily Mass during those two weeks of his summer vacation. Shortly thereafter and during one of those daily Masses with his dad, Brian asked Father Karoblis, “Father, do you need a server?” Father Konopa remembers that moment, “I did not realize then that I might be displacing a senior citizen altar server. Father Konopa’s parents respected the pastor and, in that appreciation and admiration, shined a light that illuminated the priesthood as an honorable vocation.įather Konopa’s dad routinely took two weeks off every summer, and one providential day, he asked young Brian, “Would you like to go to daily Mass so you can serve at the altar?” He did. Father Konopa’s joy in serving was evident, and his parents took notice.įather Karoblis guided him in these early stages, and Father Konopa fondly remembers his pastor’s fervor. He remembers how supportive his parents were, seeing his excitement in his first tenuous steps as an altar server under the direction of Father Andrew Karoblis. Four of his great aunts were religious sisters, and his uncle, the late Father Bob Konopa, OFM, was a Franciscan priest. I was going to be the team chaplain.”įather Konopa’s family, school and parish provided a wealth of encouragement from the very beginning. My other friend was caught up in semi-trucks and he was going to drive the from place to place. Kevin wanted to play football for the Minnesota Vikings (even though we lived in Packerland). “I remember talking with my friends in kindergarten about what we wanted to be when we grew up. I would say that has been the key to my priesthood,” said Father Brian Konopa, pastor of Mary, Mother of the Church Parish in La Crosse.įather Konopa tells each of his new parishes, “Jesus Christ is the pastor of this parish, and I am His associate pastor.” Continuing, with emotion, he shares, “I don’t know how many years I will be here, but my hope is that when I leave, you can say, ‘I am closer to Jesus Christ because of you.’”Įver since he could remember, Father Konopa felt called to the priesthood.
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