On a recent Saturday night, three priests of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis sat around a dinner table at the St. Philip church rectory where they live in Bemidji, enjoying an earnest discussion about the past week’s challenges and successes. Their conversation was leavened with light banter and some laughs, and they opened and closed the evening with shared prayer.
A year ago, this scene would not have happened in the largely rural Diocese of Crookston, where Bemidji is located. The diocese has 33 active priests, 10 of whom are approaching retirement over the next decade, with no ordinations on the horizon for three years. The active priests must stretch themselves razor-thin over 66 parishes and 17,210 square miles of the diocese.
It is a challenge.
But the challenge is being addressed in some creative ways, and these three archdiocesan priests are at the center of those efforts. Each has been “loaned” by the archdiocese to live and serve in the Crookston diocese for three years. The three are living and ministering there pursuant to the principles of the Companions of Christ — an association of priests who live a model of intentional community.
The signs of Catholic renewal are apparent in the Bemidji area, according to Marleen Webb, who in her 45 years as a parishioner at St. Phillip has participated in many levels of lay ministry — sacristan, Eucharistic minister, religious formation ministry and hospital ministry.
“These three priests arrived in July of 2024 and found a church community in need of direction, understanding and healing,” she said. She added that “young people in the area were desperate for Catholic life but had no place to turn.”
Now, just five months after the three priests’ arrival, she reported “there’s new hope that we’re turning a corner — not just trying to maintain Catholic minimums, but instead joyfully going all-out for Catholic renewal.” She reported that daily Mass and college program attendance at Bemidji State University has grown; more young people are attending St. Philip; and there’s a vibrant, new enthusiasm for the Eucharist, adoration and the rosary.
How did the transformation occur and why did these three archdiocesan priests decide to step forward and undertake the task?
After his installation in 2023, Bishop Andrew Cozzens of the Crookston diocese, formerly an auxiliary bishop in the archdiocese and a co-founder and member of the Companions, faced the challenge of covering the diocese’s geographic expanse and its needs with a sufficient number of priests. His thoughts turned to the Companions of Christ.
“Part of what I wanted was a focus on vocations in the diocese,” he said, adding “I knew the Companions would be dedicated to building up parishes and the diocese in which they serve.” “Besides,” he said, “I knew them all individually, and I am one of them. I know they have missionary spirit.”
He asked Archbishop Bernard Hebda to consider a “loan” of several archdiocesan Companion priests to the Crookston diocese, and the archbishop agreed to do so for three years.
In January 2024, the archbishop wrote a letter to the priests of the archdiocese explaining his decision. In part, the letter said, it seems “particularly fitting” to support the Companions’ missionary aspirations in Crookston, since approximately half of their archdiocesan members moved to the archdiocese to be part of the Companions. “In many ways, these men have already been missionaries to our local Church,” the archbishop wrote.
The decision to volunteer for the Crookston mission presented a challenge for an archdiocesan priest. It required him to leave home to minister in a different diocese, among unfamiliar people. Father Peter Williams, the current moderator of the Companions and pastor of St. Ambrose in Woodbury, asked three Companion priests to prayerfully consider the mission in Crookston. He chose the three based on the needs of the Crookston diocese, their experience, and their particular gifts for ministry.
Father David Blume, a Companion member who was serving at the time as archdiocesan director of vocations, said he remembers well receiving the call in the fall of 2023. When Father Williams asked him to be one of the three to live and work in the Crookston diocese, Father Blume said, “I was frankly shocked.”
In reflecting on how to respond, Father Blume had with Bishop Cozzens what Father Blume described as a “good but very frank discussion about the challenges.”
In addition, he recalled a recent retreat for seminarians he had led to Lake Superior’s Madeline Island. There, participants had focused on the story of Bishop Frederic Baraga (1797-1868), known as the “snowshoe priest” because he trekked hundreds of miles through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for the opportunity to convert souls to Christ. Father Blume said to himself, “Wait — much, much less is being asked of me.” After further prayer, he agreed to move four hours north to Bemidji.
Father Josh Salonek, formerly parochial vicar of St. John Neumann in Eagan, recalled “hearing rumblings” of a possible loan of Companion priests to the Crookston diocese.
“I said to myself, ‘No way it’ll be me.’” The surprise call came from Father Williams the week of Thanksgiving.
Father Salonek remembers a conversation with his pastor at the time, Father Tony O’Neill, also a member of the Companions. “He told me that if you don’t have a good reason to say ‘no’, you should say ‘yes.’” He considered that Father O’Neill was serving the Eagan parish even though he had come to America from Scotland, where his parents still lived. Father Salonek thought to himself, “Bemidji is a lot closer to home than Scotland.” He phoned Father Williams back a week or so later and said “yes.”
Father Tom Niehaus — formerly pastor of Most Holy Redeemer in Montgomery, St. Patrick in Shieldsville and St. Canice in Kilkenny — remembers receiving the call from Father Williams while experiencing severe jet lag after flying back from Rome. “I said to him, ‘I must have a trick ear. Did you say the Crookston diocese?’”
Nonetheless, Father Niehaus offered a quick “yes.”
“I had a chance to go back to college ministry, which I loved, plus I had priest friends up there, enjoyed camping and hiking in the area, and had been on a number of retreats at summer camps in the area,” Father Niehaus said.
In July 2024, the three priests moved from the archdiocese into their new residence at the St. Philip church rectory in Bemidji.
Father Blume was named pastor of St. Philip and also of St. Charles, a small church 20 miles away with a seasonal schedule, which does not open for Mass until “fishing opener.” Recently, he also agreed to assist Bishop Cozzens as vicar general of the diocese, which is based in Crookston, an hour and a half from Bemidji. “I will still eat three meals a day,” quipped Father Blume, “but some of those might be in the car while driving.”
Father Salonek and Father Niehaus were both appointed parochial vicars of St. Philip and St. Charles parishes. Father Niehaus also serves as chaplain for campus outreach at nearby Bemidji State.
The three priests’ daily life in the St. Philip rectory follows the intentional community model of the Companions of Christ. Each morning begins with a Holy Hour, which includes praise and worship, the Liturgy of the Hours, and silent prayer and reflection. On Saturday evenings, the Companions gather in their household to share a meal, pray and provide fraternal support. They may also invite other priests to join them, said Father Salonek. Throughout the week, they support and hold each other accountable in a variety of ways.
Father Blume summed up the reasons for the Companions’ focus on intentional community living for diocesan priests: “The conventional wisdom — that the demands of celibacy are a priest’s greatest challenge — is overstated. I believe the more common and urgent concern is the isolation that often comes from living alone.”
Father Niehaus pointed out that diocesan priests have sometimes lived under the same roof in a rectory, but the Companions’ model is different. “Our life together is ‘intentional’ in all respects — our rhythm of daily and weekly prayer and fraternity is an integral part of what keeps us strong and on mission,” he explained.
Parishioners are sometimes concerned that a Companion priest is likely to be less available for parish needs if he is living in community and not in the parish rectory. Father Niehaus has a response. “I told some initially skeptical parishioners at my Montgomery assignment — I was living in the St. Mary’s rectory in Le Center at the time — that I would be more and not less available under the Companion living arrangement. I emphasized that a healthier, fraternally supported priest can ‘run with the ball’ much more vigorously.”
Still, the new assignment presented the three with some major challenges.
The St. Philip parish had struggled in recent years to maintain the minimums of sacramental life because of the health problems and turnover of priests, which in turn placed significant burdens on staff, according to parishioner Webb. Immediately after their arrival, the three Companions faced vacancies in almost all of the key St. Philip parish and school staff positions — business administrator, religious education director, school principal, music liturgy and youth ministry, noted Father Blume.
“The janitor was about the only one left by the time the three of them got here,” quipped parishioner Webb. “They were starting from ‘ground zero,’ or to put it more accurately, ‘less than zero.’”
“When I arrived, I found I needed to wear more hats — finance, music, liturgy and personnel — than I had imagined,” Father Blume said. “For a while I felt as though we were like runners in a relay race who had to strain to grab the baton at just the right moment. I don’t think we dropped any batons, but we came close.”
Father Salonek believes the lack of staff and resources at St. Philip had a silver lining: It pressed the three of them to examine vigorously the essentials of their ministry.
“When we saw the situation awaiting us on our arrival, we asked ourselves five questions about the challenge: What is possible, what is essential, what can we afford, what are the three of us capable of handling, and what can volunteers in the parish handle?” As a result of this examination, he said, “we found ways for the three of us to take on some of the core, affordable tasks; discovered a joyful outpouring of volunteers; and even found some extra hours to pursue new outreach and support for Catholic life in the area.” They have also slowly filled some of the open positions.
Parishioner Webb recognized that the Companions exude something new and different at St. Philip. “They undertake an amazing array of duties, running energetically from task to task, and they do so with an infectious sense of joy and energy.” She observed that it starts with the way they interact with each other. “They refer to each other as ‘brother’ and poke fun at one another. Their brotherly love in Christ radiates from there.”
Mark Studer, who has been a parishioner of St. Philip for 31 years, said the three priests have “reenergized Catholic life in town — emphasizing the holiness of what is going on in the Mass as well as through encouraging adoration, reconciliation, and praying the rosary.” Studer estimated that attendance at daily Mass, which was about 25 to 30 before the Companions arrived, is now 45 to 55.
“Most importantly,” he remarked, “these three priests — through their ministry and fraternal interaction –– are inspiring us not to just ‘maintain’ our faith — which means looking inward — but instead to evangelize, which means looking outward.” Studer sees potential in the Companions’ ministry “for an exuberant new generation of Catholics, as well as candidates for the priesthood and religious.”
Father Niehaus pursues a multitude of opportunities to engage with Bemidji State college students. On Tuesday nights, he hosts a meal, Mass, and other student activities at St. Philip, which is called Beaver Night (Bemidji State athletic teams are the Beavers). The rest of the week, he might discuss Catholic faith with a student group, lead a Bible study, pray with athletes before or after Bemidji State athletic games, or hold a bonfire with students.
“Recently we went hatchet-throwing and this winter I hope to do some icehouse ministry,” he added with a smile. “It’s officially called ‘college fellowship’,” he confided. “But,” he leaned forward and whispered with a grin, “we also call it partying for the Lord!”
Sam Carlson, 26, has seen Father Niehaus’ impact on college students firsthand through his work on the Bemidji campus and at St. Philip with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS). When Carlson arrived at Bemidji State with three other FOCUS team members in late 2023, he noted that Catholic life on campus was almost invisible. The Tuesday evening Mass and dinner at St. Philip was only attracting five to seven college students.
“When Father Niehaus arrived, it was like a Catholic tsunami hit the college,” observed Carlson. “He constantly walks the campus looking for students and faculty to engage about their challenges and how to meet those challenges through Christ’s saving love.” Many times, said Carlson, he connects with individuals who claim the most tepid faith, or no faith at all. “He never tires of seeking out people who are thirsting for meaning in their lives, even if at first they can’t quite articulate their yearnings.”
Carlson has been particularly struck by Father Niehaus’ engagement with athletes.
“One day, he just walked into the head football coach’s office, unsolicited, and offered his support for the personal challenges team members were facing. Soon after, the coach invited him to speak to the team.” He also walks the sidelines at games, said Carlson, conversing with athletes, students and staff. He has connected with the volleyball and basketball coaching staff too, Carlson said.
Father Niehaus and Carlson have worked together to add energy and interest to Beaver Night, such as a recent “stump the priest” event, featuring Father Salonek in the hot seat. Carlson said the average attendance at Beaver Catholic Night has risen to more than 20 now, and sometimes closer to 30.
“The key to all this,” Carlson said, “is his willingness to seek out frank, face-to-face conversations about restoring a foundation of God’s truth for college students who are often wandering aimlessly, with little more than vague career aspirations.”
Father Niehaus agreed that the enthusiastic response among Bemidji State students is due in large part to their yearning for something higher and better — something filled with “holiness, stability and tradition.” Many older people “make the mistake of concluding that young college students want to run a thousand miles and hide in the bushes when they see a priest,” he said. “It’s not true. If they see you are willing to talk to them about their goals and how seeking sainthood can transform a life, they are more than eager for that conversation.”
Bishop Cozzens believes the mission of the Companions — particularly the model of its mission to the Crookston diocese — could play a role in revitalizing the priesthood and Catholic life.
“The Church has sent missionaries to Africa and many other places,” he remarked, “and now we are sending them on missions in our own backyards.”
Father Salonek emphasized the same point, noting that about 30 percent of students at St. Philip’s elementary school are not Catholic and only about half of the rest regularly attend Mass. Consequently, he spends a great deal of time talking to the school’s teachers, staff, students and students’ families. “It’s clear we have great opportunities for mission and evangelization right under our own roof,” he said with a grin.
In considering his work in the Crookston diocese and that of his two Companion priests, Father Salonek said that he often thinks of the many sacrifices that have been made for this mission.
He recalled the following, which is said at every Mass in the Liturgy of the Eucharist: “Pray, brethren, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.” These words sometimes bring to his mind the sacrifice made by Archbishop Hebda, who for three years will have three fewer priests to allocate to a growing body of archdiocesan needs. Father Salonek also recalls the sacrifice of other priests in the archdiocese, who must pick up extra work because of the absence of these three. Finally, he thinks of the parishioners in the archdiocese, who have generously made a temporary sacrifice of three of their priests for fellow Catholics in the Crookston diocese who have a greater need.
In the course of these reflections, though, something is missing. Father Salonek omits to mention his own sacrifice and those of Father Blume and Father Niehaus — the way they dropped everything to serve Christ’s flock far from their homes.
“Oh no,” Father Salonek said, when asked to comment on this omission. “Here in Bemidji, we have a multitude of excellent opportunities to make Christ known to people yearning deeply for his love. Pursuing this joyful goal — especially with these fine brother priests by my side — is no burden. This is exactly the vocation for which we were called.”
COMPANIONS OF CHRIST
The Companions of Christ is a group of diocesan priests and seminarians who live in “intentional community.” The organization started with a small group of laymen in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and has now grown to number 34 priests in the archdiocese, as well as members in the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois, and the Archdiocese of Denver.
In 1992, six young men in the archdiocese were discerning the priesthood. One of them was Andrew Cozzens, now bishop of the Crookston diocese and formerly an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. They were attracted to a life of fraternal support through living in community. But they also wanted to pursue the richness of a diocesan priest’s vocation. This presented a challenge, because community living is almost exclusively associated with religious communities.
The six brought their hopes and concerns to then-Auxiliary Bishop Robert Carlson, who advised them to consider seeking an official fraternity of archdiocesan priests and seminarians as a “public association” and assisted them in obtaining approval.
To combat isolation, the Companions try to live in community of at least three members in parish rectories or other households. At the same time, they emphasize that their promise of obedience to the diocesan bishop is paramount.
On their website, the Companions refer to St. John Paul II, who stated that the benefits of such associations of priests are “in harmony with the early institutions of the early Jerusalem community” and “obvious and urgent” in the modern world.
They are also animated by a John Paul II-inspired devotion to the new evangelization, including catechesis, spiritual renewal, and the fostering of vocations in the local Church. In the words of Father Peter Williams, current moderator of the Companions, “We want to lower our nets deep in the water.”
