Body of Christ: Fr. Joseph Heit

As the new director of the Office of Worship, Fr. Joseph Heit hopes to create opportunities for liturgical dialogue, education and growth throughout the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Just don’t ask him to sing: “I don’t have a musical bone in my body,” he said. “I can chant, but only if no one has to repeat a note after me.”

Before entering the seminary, Fr. Heit worked in parish ministry in the Diocese of Madison for 13 years. He also has a master’s degree from the Liturgical Institute at Mundelein Seminary.
He was ordained in 2023 and was appointed to be the director of the Archdiocesan Office of Worship earlier this year.
He enjoys being with his family, which includes an ever-growing brood of nieces and nephews.

What have been the most joyful moments of your first three years of priesthood?

One was my Mass of Thanksgiving, where my godson received his First Communion. It just happened to work in God’s time that he was 8 years old and in second grade the year I was ordained, and he was able to receive First Communion from his godfather.

He’s a lucky kid! What’s the second?

The second would be weddings. I’ve had 32 weddings in three years, and I’ve absolutely loved them. I have a tradition with my wedding couples that I buy them dinner. My first couple took me up on the offer about two weeks before the wedding, and I began by saying “Remember, this is on me, drinks included,” and the bride, who wasn’t Catholic, was relieved to see that priests drink. We had a great conversation, and they started going to Mass every week after their wedding. I think they saw that, yes, he’s a priest, he’s here in a collar, but he’s also just talking and hearing stories. He’s with us and he can be fun to be around. He’s not weird — well, I am, but …

But in a good way.

In a great way! The third thing is that last year, I got to run the OCIA program in the Northwest cluster of parishes of Racine. I had every aspect of it — people who were baptized, people who had prior marriages that needed figuring out before we could get them received into the Church, baptized Catholics who had never been confirmed. I just absolutely loved it. Then, on an amazingly beautiful Easter Vigil night, we received six into the Church, and I got to do a full immersion baptism. I climbed in the tank to fully dunk him. It was great.

What do you envision for your new role in the Office of Worship?

Fr. Joseph Heit performs a full-immersion Baptism during the Easter Vigil this year at the Northwest cluster of parishes in Racine. Fr. Heit, the new director of the Archdiocesan Office of Worship, called the experience one of the highlights of his first three years as a priest. (Submitted photo)

There are a lot of questions around the liturgy, especially this summer, and it makes me think of what we used to talk about in the seminary — how do we find the green zone based on what the Church asks for? Where does the archbishop prefer us to fall liturgically? There’s a whole spectrum in our parishes, and my job isn’t to police that but to help develop it. One thing I really like is that I’m going to be out there teaching in parishes. Pastors can invite me in, whether it’s to preach or to give a mission, and we can talk about the spirituality and the theology behind the sacraments and the liturgy. That’s my goal — go pray with the community, get to know these different liturgical pockets. Then, if a parish is thinking about a renovation or has any kind of issue, they can call me and get an outsider’s view, but as someone who’s prayed with them.

Who do you go to when you need advice?

Any of my brother priests, because we’re all unique. We all have a different perspective, and we’ve all dealt with different things. I won’t always agree with them, but at least I can hear them out. There are also many lay staff members I used to work with who I can call and say, “Hey, have you ever experienced this? What are your thoughts?”

What is your favorite hymn?

It’s a common one among priests: “O God Beyond All Praising.” Mostly because I don’t have that musical gift, I like the songs that allow the people to drown me out. Because I’m going to sing — God gave me this voice and I’m going to give it back to him.