Father Chad VanHoose — named as NET Ministries’ first chaplain — said his connection with the national Catholic youth ministry based in West St. Paul dates to middle school.
“I was a retreatant in middle school and (I was) really green, just finding my way in the world, and was touched by the faith of the NET missionaries,” Father VanHoose, pastor of St. Jude of the Lake in Mahtomedi, told “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley.
“After college, I was asking the question, ‘What does God want with my life?’ I was a nursing major and got my registered nurse degree and license, but wasn’t sure that was quite the next step,” Father VanHoose said. “So, 19 years ago, I moved from northern Kentucky to Minnesota to be a missionary (with NET), and I never looked back.”
Father VanHoose started serving as a NET missionary in 2005 on the ministry’s first discipleship team in Faribault. He served as the team’s supervisor from 2006 to 2008, then the team’s administrator until 2011.
“It was during those years of serving with NET that I heard the Lord’s call to be a priest and to stay here and in the archdiocese,” Father VanHoose told Conley. “I had six years of ministry directly with NET, and then into the seminary, into the priesthood. And I’ve continued to keep ties with NET, helping there when I can.”
When Archbishop Bernard Hebda asked Father Chad VanHoose to consider a new, full-time role with NET Ministries, Father VanHoose said “it was a bit of a dream.”
“It’s like going back to my roots, going back to where the Lord has spoken to me so many times in my life. (I’m) happy to be able to give back in this special way.”
Father VanHoose said it’s a critical time to reach young people and offer ways for them to grow in their faith.
“It seems like there’s all kinds of threats to faith — especially the faith of young people — that are surrounding us these days,” Father VanHoose said.
To hear what Father VanHoose is looking forward to in his new role, which takes effect July 1, listen to the episode of “Practicing Catholic” that debuts at 9 p.m. May 24 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats at 1 p.m. May 25 and 2 p.m. May 26.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the program also includes a conversation with Tim Doran, head of the family-owned St. Patrick’s Guild book, gift and church goods stores in St. Paul, and with Archbishop Bernard Hebda on the appointment of Bishop Joseph Williams, most recently auxiliary bishop in the archdiocese, to the Diocese of Camden in New Jersey.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
