Michael Wodarczyk (right) was one of three men who professed their first vows and became members of the Priests of the Sacred Heart on Aug. 15. (Submitted photo)
On Aug. 15, Brookfield native Michael Wodarczyk was one of three men who professed their first vows and became members of the Priests of the Sacred Heart (Dehonians). Receiving their vows was Fr. Vien Nguyen, S.C.J., who made his own first profession exactly 25 years earlier. Fr. Vien is now provincial superior of the U.S. Province.
It was through the Archdiocese of Milwaukee that Wodarczyk, 34, learned about the Priests of the Sacred Heart. “I found the SCJs on a website for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee,” said Wodarczyk, whose home parish is St. John Vianney. “I was drawn to the community because of its members’ daily Eucharistic Adoration and parish ministry.”
Before entering candidacy, Wodarczyk earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a major in accounting from St. Norbert College. He worked for Asenzya in Oak Creek as an inventory control clerk and was active in his parish, serving as a lector and as a Eucharistic minister, as well as with RCIA. After being away from his studies for a year to complete his novitiate, Wodarczyk will return this fall to Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology in Franklin, where he is a seminarian.
