When Jim Ennis became executive director of Catholic Rural Life, his youngest child was a first grader. Today that boy is 18, and the father of five finds himself on the cusp of an empty nest.
So much has happened in more than a decade of leadership. His impact on the organization has been “transformative,” expanding its reach and resources, according to Christopher Thompson, a former board member and close collaborator who serves as dean of The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul.
Looking back, Ennis can see how God prepared him for this position: corporate work that introduced him to food service along with nonprofit management, a strong Catholic faith and an MBA, roots in California’s San Joaquin Valley coupled with Minnesota ties.
The result has been a series of unforgettable moments: 70-something farmers urging Ennis to broadcast his insights on Catholic tradition and rural life, Cardinal Peter Turkson in Rome asking him to pen a document on the vocation of the agricultural leader, Pope Francis enthusiastically receiving that document in a 45-minute audience.
“God leads and opens doors,” said Ennis, a member of Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in St. Paul. “Our job is to walk through them and say yes, to be faithful every day.”
Affirming farmers in their sacred, sweaty work has taken Ennis across the country.
“His drive to affirm rural life is a powerful force,” said Bishop Brendan Cahill, president of the CRL board and head of the Victoria, Texas, diocese.
The highlights of Ennis’ travels are the times he has helped someone unlock riches of the Catholic faith, like the Guatemalan immigrants in rural South Dakota who had grown up with the rosary but didn’t really know how to pray it until Ennis introduced them to St. John Paul II’s 2003 apostolic letter on the rosary.
“This letter just opened up their eyes,” he said.
Running Catholic Rural Life for 11 years has changed Ennis. He has made a habit of digging into the Church’s modern letters, a source of intellectual stimulation and poetry. He has parented differently, making a point to demonstrate that faith is not to be hidden or compartmentalized. And he has developed a keen appreciation for the communion of saints.
There is an interconnectedness to it all, stitched together like delicate lace — his work has made that clear.
And so, Ennis tends to his quarter-acre lot in Roseville with reverence, growing a garden and raising chickens there.
His faith propels him to meet every challenge, Thompson said. “His zeal to serve the Lord with gladness is palpable. There’s hardly an occasion where Jim doesn’t bring a spirit of prayer to his work. You can count on him to have arisen at dawn that day, and with his Bible close at hand, he will have brought his concerns to prayer. He rarely takes credit for any success without first acknowledging that it is the Lord who is leading the work of Catholic Rural Life.”
Ennis’ focus remains there — even if Catholic Rural Life isn’t high profile, even though funding is limited. He was reminded of this on a recent trip to Sequoia National Park, where he backpacked with his 18-year-old son.
“It was stunning to see these wildflowers up at 9,000 feet,” he said. “They’re just blooming. They’re just being who they are. It seems small and insignificant, yet it’s beautiful.”
