{"id":588,"date":"2009-06-05T21:46:00","date_gmt":"2009-06-05T21:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2009\/06\/a-married-priest-helps-end-a-nebraska-vocations-drought.html"},"modified":"2009-06-05T21:46:00","modified_gmt":"2009-06-05T21:46:00","slug":"a-married-priest-helps-end-a-nebraska-vocations-drought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/06\/a-married-priest-helps-end-a-nebraska-vocations-drought.html","title":{"rendered":"A married priest helps end a Nebraska vocations drought"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some interesting news<\/a> from the heartland today: <\/p>\n

After a five year drought where the Grand Island Catholic Diocese did not ordain a single new priest, Friday they ordained three — including the state’s first married priest. <\/p>\n

It was with nervous anticipation, wedding day jitters almost that Father Sidney Bruggeman was ordained as a Catholic priest. <\/p>\n

“When I say it’s kind of like getting married, it’s from personal experience,” he said. “It’s the same sense of feeling I had when I got married.”<\/p>\n

At a time when the Catholic Church struggles to replace aging pastors, Nebraska welcomes three, including the state’s first married priest. <\/p>\n

Most Rev. William Dendinger the bishop of Grand Island said, “There’s only about 100 in the United States I think this is the first one in Nebraska, but it’s a very, very small exception to the policy of mandatory celibacy for all those who are priests.”<\/p>\n

Bruggeman said he’s used to the questions. “It’s a difficult question for a lot of Catholics to approach. A married priest is like ‘that can’t be. There’s some mistake here. Somebody’s trying to pull a fast one.’<\/p>\n

Bruggeman left his position as a protestant minister, became a practicing catholic, and received a special dispensation from the pope himself. <\/p>\n

Bishop Dendinger said, “Father Bruggeman was pretty crystal clear. He’d been Catholic for years and had thought about this a long time so it was not a snap decision it was well thought out.”<\/p>\n

Bruggeman joins a traditional seminary student and an immigrant from Mexico. The three new priests bring hope to a diocese that had not ordained a single priest in five years. <\/p>\n

Father Jorge Canela-Rodriguez said it was a day of celebration. He said, “Being in seminary for almost ten years finally I came to the day, this is the day the Lord has made and my heart is full of joy and gratitude to the Lord.”<\/p>\n

Now Bruggeman, a father of four becomes a Catholic father.<\/p>\n

“It’s a joyful day,” he said.<\/p>\n

Father Bruggeman is married with four children and several grand children. He will be pastoring churches in Greeley and St. Libory. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some interesting news from the heartland today: After a five year drought where the Grand Island Catholic Diocese did not ordain a single new priest, Friday they ordained three — including the state’s first married priest. 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