Three More Gradutates Ordained
(Winter 2001-2002 Newsletter)
Fr. Joseph O’Hara (’92)
Fr. Donald Bauer (’92)
Fr. Robert Fromageot, F.S.S.P. (’94)
Three graduates were ordained as priests on June 30: Fr.
Joseph O'Hara, Fr. Donald Bauer, and Fr. Robert Fromageot.
Frs. O'Hara and Bauer were ordained in the Diocese of La Crosse,
Wisconsin, while Fr. Fromageot was ordained a member of the
Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.
Frs. O'Hara and Bauer bear remarkably similar stories: both
were Wisconsin natives, both were engineering school graduates,
both were start-over freshmen at Thomas Aquinas College, both
tested their vocations in a religious order, both were seminarians
under Bishop Raymond Burke, and both are associate pastors
in central rural Wisconsin. And yet, even then, and even though
they graduated from Thomas Aquinas College on the same day,
and were ordained as priests nine years later on the same
day, their stories still are unique.
Fr. Joseph O'Hara
O'Hara was born the third of five children in south suburban
Chicago. His father owned a farm in Blair, Wisconsin, (pop.
1,100), where the family spent summers until moving there
full-time in his ninth grade. He worked the farm, raising
beef, hogs, and goats until he graduated from high school.
He then attended the University of Wisconsin, Platteville,
where he received a bachelor of science degree in electrical
engineering in 1988.
But he felt he was floundering in life, made noticeably so
when he first visited his sister Mary and brother Marty, who
were students at Thomas Aquinas College. "I could see
there was something missing in my life," he said. "Up
to that point, I had been inattentive to the Faith and what
it meant. To see the Faith well-lived makes it a desirable
thing."
While Mary graduated from the College in 1987, and Marty
in 1988, Joseph decided to start over as a freshman at the
College. He soon found what he had been missing: "the
Faith well-lived." He took to the program with vigor,
immersing himself in studies and became active in the outside
evangelization work of the Legion of Mary.
By the time he was to graduate, he knew he wanted to be a
priest. But he didn't know where to go. He thought he'd first
try monastic life. So he spent five years at Christ in the
Mountains Monastery, a Cistercian community in Caliente, Nevada.
While there, he came to know Bishop Raymond Burke from his
home area of La Crosse, WI.
Bishop Burke was working to establish a similar monastery
in his diocese and soon gave direction to O'Hara, who was
still thinking through his own vocation. "He helped me
see that, perhaps, God was calling me to a more active role
in the Church," O'Hara said.
Under Burke's direction, O'Hara then left the monastery and
finished his seminary training. Following his ordination in
June, Bishop Burke appointed him Associate Pastor to one of
the largest parishes in the diocese, St. Bronislava's Church
in Plover, Wisconsin, where he performs regular parish ministry
for some 1,800 families. One of his main duties is to work
with youth both in the religious education program and the
parish school.
He looks back with fondness on his time at the College and
"all the great people there" that helped him find
his vocation, especially founding president Dr. Ron McArthur
and chaplain Fr. Gerard Steckler, S.J.
Now he enjoys "just seeing the great things that can
be done simply by being an instrument of the hand of God.
God is our first joy, our first love. I love the Eucharist.
That's the high point of my day, the celebration of the Mass."
Fr. Donald Bauer
Bauer was born and raised in Racine, Wisconsin, the fourth
of five children. He attended a Catholic school through fourth
grade, and then public schools through high school, graduating
in 1976.
He went to Oklahoma State University where he got a bachelor's
degree in agricultural engineering, after which he obtained
his master's degree at Purdue University. But ever since high
school, he felt something missing in his life. As a young
boy, he used to play Mass in his parents' basement, and cites
that as the origin of his desire to become a priest. But he
got off track while in college and put that interest aside.
Then he had a re-conversion to the Faith and met a well-spoken
advocate for the Faith and classical liberal education, Dr.
Kevin Long (class of '77). Dr. Long urged Bauer to start his
educational process all over again at Thomas Aquinas College.
He did.
"I wanted to go not simply because of my desire to live
my faith more deeply," he said, "but because I saw
that the education there was the step I needed to help me
attain another goal, the priesthood. The College helped me
gain the good philosophical and theological background I needed
for my vocation. It also made me come to understand what sort
of things people really need to know in life."
But like O'Hara, following graduation from the College in
1992, he could not decide what path to take. He joined the
Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, but after two years had
a change of direction. He felt drawn back to Wisconsin, partly
due to his continuing love for the area, but also, once again
like Fr. O'Hara, due to the influence of Bishop Burke. Bauer
was deeply impressed with Bishop Burke's commitment to the
Faith and his cultivation of seminarians.
So he relocated to Wisconsin, met up again with his College
classmate, O'Hara, completed his seminary training, and was
ordained in June. He is currently serving as Associate Pastor
under Fr. Joseph Hirsch to four rural parishes in the La Crosse
Diocese. He's very satisfied with his new role. So far what
he enjoys the most is working with kids; he teaches in two
schools there. "They're very intelligent, very quick,
and very disciplined."
Maybe someday they will grow up to be just like him.
Fr. Robert Fromageot, F.S.S.P.
Robert Fromageot grew up far away from rural Wisconsin -
he was born and raised in New York state, the youngest of
three boys. His mother, Juana Zayas, is an acclaimed concert
pianist. After attending public schools, Robert spent four
years in the Army.
He came to the College where he was introduced to the "rich
traditions of the Church." In absorbing the life of the
College, he felt "oriented to things traditional, both
academically and spiritually."
While here, though he attended the Latin Tridentine Rite
several times only, he was struck by its beauty and richness.
"I found a discipline in it that I thought was lacking
in the new."
On graduation from the College in 1994, he entered the Priestly
Fraternity of St. Peter, a society of apostolic life founded
by the Holy See to say the Latin Tridentine Mass. For him,
it was a perfect fit, and he is optimistic that more and more
people will come to see the great beauty and value of the
old liturgy.
"The situation is similar to when Coca-Cola once tried
to change it's image, abandoned the Old Coke, and offered
New Coke.Sales plunged. So they re-introduced the Old Coke
as Classic Coke and their sales revived. I think the same
thing will be proved true about the Mass. I'm just helping
to play a small part in that - to re-introduce the Old Mass
to help bring people back to the Church. What's at stake here
is not just a nice Rite."
Following his ordination this past summer, Fr. Fromageot
was assigned to Our Lady of Fatima Chapel in Pequannock, New
Jersey. There, he offers the traditional Latin Mass in a small,
converted Baptist church for about 200 families from all over
New York and New Jersey. He finds the work hard, but rewarding.
"I enjoy the privilege of being God's instrument, a
channel of grace."
-- Qtrly Newsletter, Winter 2002
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