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Our featured priest this month is Father Jerome Holtzman. He was ordained June 2, 1957, and is a senior priest in the diocese.
How did you get your call to the priesthood?
I really feel my call to the priesthood was embedded in my Baptism in the intentions of my parents and grandparents, only to be recognized in prayer and reflections. In my early childhood, I saw reflections of Christ while candling the eggs, while in the Golden Rule grocery store or while shining shoes in Butch’s Barbershop. And, more symbolically still, while herding sheep on Johnny Rezac’s farm.
What did you do before the priesthood?
I spent two years in Vienna, Austria, employed by the Allied secretary during the post-WWII occupation. Summers were spent in Chicago working in the steel mills, at Swift packing plant and at Skid Row food line. During those years, there were many priests whom I met.
Tell me about some of your assignments.
My first assignment as an ordained priest was teaching Latin and German at Notre Dame High School in Mitchell. I also worked as head of the Religious Department at O’Gorman High School. I spent five and a half years in Thailand working with seminarians from the Udon Theni Diocese, including two years at the Ban Vinai refugee camp working with the Hmong from Laos and the Hasenite group. I am most grateful to Bishop Paul Dudley for allowing me that missionary experience.
What’s your favorite part of being a priest?
One of the peak moments of celebration was to offer the Mass in French and preach at the church of my father’s ancestors in Saultz Las Bains, Alsace, France. After the Mass, the mayor of the city hosted a reception for my Alsatian family and presented me with my family tree, which included my great-great-uncle, Father Pius Boehm from St. Meinrad Benedictine Monastery who founded the Indian mission in Stephen, South Dakota.
Who is your go-to saint? Why?
My favorite go-to saint is Padre Pio, whom I had the privilege to meet and sit at a table with in Foggia, Italy. In his priesthood, he bore the wounds of Christ in his hands and side.
What do you do in your spare time?
I spend time talking to my sister who, at 96, is the sharpest person I know. I enjoy visiting and sharing my experiences with the people I encounter every day.
What is something most people don’t know about you?
I did my master’s thesis on the Hutterite Southern German dialect. I also had the opportunity to speak with them in their native German language.
If you could have supper with anyone from history (besides Jesus), who would it be and why?
Thomas Merton and Teilhard de Chardin discussing Jesus, King of the Universe!
