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Graduates' Influence in Seminaries is Far-Reaching

(Fall 2006 Newsletter)

One of the most remarkable fruits of Thomas Aquinas College is the relatively large number of alumni who enter the priesthood and religious life. The College now has 42 priests, 40 seminarians, and 20 fully professed religious among its alumni. Some serve in parishes, some are cloistered monks, and some are classroom teachers. All are having a profound influence on the lives of those they touch, sharing as they do with them the sacraments and the authentic teachings of Christ and His Church. Perhaps most influential of all, though, are those priests who are helping to prepare young men for ordination. Profiled below are three Thomas Aquinas College graduates who have been asked by their superiors to teach in their seminaries. Please keep them in your prayers.

Rev. Brendan Kelly (’85)
On May 28, 2005, Fr. Brendan Kelly became the 39th alumni priest to be ordained to the priesthood from Thomas Aquinas College. One of 14 children, and brother of College tutor Brian Kelly (’88), Fr. Brendan Kelly took a somewhat circuitous route to his ordination day. He earned a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame and taught for two years at the University of San Francisco’s St. Ignatius Institute. It was during World Youth Day in Denver in 1993 on hearing Pope John Paul II’s admonition to the multitudes assembled that “now it is for you to put [what I have told you] into practice” that he became aware of God’s call to the priesthood.

After much soul searching, Fr. Kelly discerned a calling to the diocesan priesthood and was eventually ordained for the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska, by the Most Reverend Fabian Bruskewitz. Though a diocesan priest, Fr. Kelly was soon recognized by his superiors for his academic excellence and his talent as a teacher. While completing his preparations for the priesthood, he had taught at a diocesan high school, and recently, he was asked by Bishop Bruskewitz to assume teaching duties at Saint Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, Nebraska.

The Diocese of Lincoln long desired its own seminary, and so it was with great joy in August of 1998 that Bishop Bruskewitz formally blessed and dedicated Saint Gregory the Great Seminary. Twenty-three young men enrolled that first year in the new minor seminary to pursue their undergraduate degrees and receive pre-theology training for the priesthood; there are now 55 seminarians from Lincoln as well as other nearby dioceses.

Though his specialty is medieval philosophy, Fr. Kelly has been charged with teaching the history of philosophy, from medieval times to the present. In his classes, he is employing some of the seminar methods he learned at his alma mater, though as he points out, there is a mix of lectures and seminars at the seminary. Yet, he says, “Even when I lecture, it always involves quite a bit of discussion.”

Besides the responsibility he has to assist in the philosophical formation of future priests, Fr. Brendan Kelly is also an associate at Blessed Sacrament parish in Lincoln, located near the seminary. Says Bishop Bruskewitz of Fr. Kelly, “He is a fine priest who is prayerful and intelligent. He is very willing to share his knowledge and abilities for the salvation of souls and the glory of God, in preaching and teaching, in high school and seminary, formally and informally for our Diocese.”

Rev. Gary Selin (’89)
Years ago, Fr. Gary knelt before the Eucharist in the Capelinha (little chapel) which is built over the spot where Our Blessed Mother appeared at Fatima. It was in those intimate moments, even though a very young man, his call to the priesthood was clearly confirmed. Yet years passed, an education at Thomas Aquinas College ensued, and many, as he calls them, “detours” took Fr. Selin to various religious communities in the United States, Brazil, and Portugal.

Finally, Fr. Selin found his calling in the Archdiocese of Denver, Colorado, where he was ordained to the priesthood in June of 2003. He spent his first year as an associate pastor at Our Lady of Fatima parish. Before ordination, however, his superior, the Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of the Denver archdiocese, had already planned to have Fr. Selin pursue a Ph.D. in theology so as to teach in Denver’s St. John Vianney Theological Seminary. With enrollment rising in recent years, the seminary was in need of more faculty; Fr. Selin was to be the first priest Archbishop Chaput tapped to help staff it.

So, after a year of parish work, Fr. Selin departed for Washington, D.C., to attend The Catholic University of America (Catholic U) where he is studying for a doctorate in systematic theology. While completing his course work, Fr. Selin is living in nearby northern Virginia at St. John the Beloved Catholic Church in McLean where he serves the parishoners when he is not studying.

Not only will Fr. Gary teach at the seminary when he returns to Denver, he will also be involved in the seminarians’ formation. To that end, his dissertation will be on the topic of celibacy. “I’m doing my research on priests and celibacy,” he explains, “because that is the issue that comes up with almost every young man thinking about the priesthood.... ‘What is it all about?’ and “Am I called to it?’”

Fr. Selin believes he will be especially well-positioned to answer those questions after the completion of his doctoral work in Washington, D.C. at Catholic U. Archbishop Chaput shares the same confidence, saying, “Father Selin demonstrated a wonderful academic ability as a student in St. John Vianney Theological Seminary. The faculty there very much encouraged me to recognize those abilities and send him on to graduate school. We look forward to Father Gary’s return to Denver to be part of the seminary faculty and the formation staff there. I’m sure that the Lord will accomplish wonderful things through his ministry both at the seminary and in our archdiocesan Church.”

Says Fr. Selin of his assignment, “Archbishop Chaput is investing a lot of time and money in my formation as a seminary professor. It’s a great honor, but also a great responsibility. The parish priest can touch thousands of lives, but in the seminary, I will touch indirectly hundreds of thousands, through the ministry of the priests I will be helping to form. It’s humbling knowing what can be done as God’s instrument.”

Rev. Sebastian Walshe, O.Praem. (’94)
In 1990, with a degree in electrical engineering already in hand from the University of California at Irving, and some work experience already under his belt, Fr. Sebastian Walshe entered Thomas Aquinas College in order to acquire, at last, the education he found that he lacked. A convert to Catholicism at the age of 13, he found at the College a spiritual and intellectual environment that not only deepened his faith, but inspired him to investigate the possibility that God was calling him to a vocation.

After graduating from the College in 1994, he entered the Order of Praemontre, commonly called the Norbertines, at St. Michael’s Abbey in Orange County, California, and was ordained on September 24, 2005. Almost immediately following, Fr. Walshe was asked by his superior to continue his post-graduate education with the intent of having him return to St. Michael’s Abbey and assume teaching positions in both the high school and the seminary there.

Over the following year, at the Angelicum in Rome, Fr. Sebastian says, “I finished what my Abbot asked me to do: Write that doctoral thesis and get it done. It was a daunting project at the beginning, but with God’s help I finished it and everything went quite well.” His dissertation was entitled, The Primacy of the Common Good as a Root of Personal Dignity in the Doctrine of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Fr. Sebastian has now returned to St. Michael’s Abbey with a doctorate in philosophy. He has assumed multiple duties as an educator, teaching an introduction to philosophy class to the junior class of boys who attend the high school at St. Michael’s Abbey, and teaching logic, ethics, and natural philosophy to young men attending the seminary. He, too, employs the Socratic method of discussion when possible and advantageous.

Though he had a desire to teach, Fr. Sebastian left it up to his superiors and the will of God to determine just how his talents would be utilized. “I never requesteded to teach because what I am to do in the community is ultimately my superior’s decision. He needs to look to the common good of the community. As it happens, the needs of the community and my own desire have coincided, and I am very grateful to God.”

The Abbot of St. Michael’s, Rev. Eugene Joseph Hayes O.Praem., has likewise expressed thanks to God for Fr. Walshe’s talents, saying, “Of course, we are always happy to welcome home our confreres who have completed their studies....Whether teaching high school boys or seminarians, Fr. Sebastian has a particular talent for addressing his students at a level guaranteed to reach them. It is an understatement to say we are thrilled that Fr. Sebastian is home.”

-- Qtrly Newsletter, Fall 2006