Father John Klockeman brings a wealth of experience to his ministry at St. Bartholomew in Wayzata, but he is grateful for continuing opportunities to learn and develop. He was assigned as pastor of St. Bartholomew’s in 2021, after two years as pastor of St. Gerard in Brooklyn Park and following 16 years as a spiritual director and formation director at St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul and at The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul, where he also taught classes.
He began his ministry in the archdiocese as associate pastor at St. Olaf in downtown Minneapolis, focused on catechesis and young adult outreach as well as wider public outreach through a cable television show called “Generation Cross.”
“There are a number of hats that a pastor has to wear,” said Father Klockeman, who has explored new and creative ways to adapt his years of seminary teaching to ministering to the parish and its school.
Father Klockeman said he knew since his early years growing up in West St. Paul as a member of St. Joseph that his life would be different from his siblings’ lives. He graduated from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and international business and had planned to go on to graduate studies.
While living in Arizona, however, he became involved with LifeTeen, a Catholic youth ministry organization centered on the Eucharist that started in the Diocese of Phoenix. Through LifeTeen, he deepened his faith. During one Mass, as the priest prayed the doxology — “through him, with him, and in him” — Father Klockeman heard his own voice say, “this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.” For the next year, he wrestled with pursuing a vocation through marriage and family life or through the priesthood, finally deciding he was called to the priesthood.
Other experiences continued to influence his path to the priesthood. On his first trip overseas to Spain, he was at the Shrine to St. Teresa in Ávila with a crowd of pilgrims and asked the Lord for time alone in prayer. Everyone suddenly cleared the room, and he pledged his service to the Lord in that sacred moment.
His parish in Arizona helped arrange for humanitarian aid to Croatia during the Balkan War. The late Father Doug Lorig, a big influence, had raised funds and organized a shipment of nine 40-foot-long containers filled with relief supplies. Father Klockeman was sent to help with distribution. He was staying in the small town of Gaj with a priest, who took him to a cathedral in nearby Ludbreg where a Eucharistic miracle had occurred in 1411. Kneeling on stone before the Blessed Sacrament in a beautiful gemstone inlaid silver monstrance, he felt the overwhelming strength, warmth and power of God’s presence inviting him to enter into the depth of relationship.
Father Klockeman went on to earn a Master of Arts degree in theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio; a Master of Divinity degree from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul; and was ordained a priest on May 27, 2000.
“The Lord has blessed me with profound spiritual experiences,” said Father Klockeman, who added that he is excited by the prospect of young people returning to the Mass and feels blessed to be a spiritual shepherd at St. Bartholomew.
