Reesman said his high school girlfriend, a deeply religious person with whom he would discuss faith, caused a light to go off in his head. Ironically, according to Reesman, being Southern Baptist, she didn’t have the highest regard for Catholics.

During his college years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Reesman, 27, found his faith deepen through the help of fellow students with whom he created and belonged to a “vocation support group.” Despite studying next to binge drinkers and fraternity and sorority rushers, Reesman credits Madison with being the place where “my vocation took root.” He was able to lead Bible studies and assist during Masses.

Back at his home parish, St. Mary, Burlington, Reesman talked with Fr. David Reith, now pastor of St. Dominic, Brookfield. Fr. Reith asked if Reesman had ever thought of being a priest.

“I said, ‘Who would want to do that?’” Reesman laughed. “He very politely forgave me.”

Other members of his support group in Madison also mentioned it, and Reesman attended a religious retreat in Burlington. At that retreat he met Fr. Bob Stiefvater who introduced him to the idea of the seminary.

“I went back to Madison with the idea of the seminary in my head and that was very comforting,” he said. “I went back to school after the retreat and was open to wherever God would take me.”Reesman had no intention of attending a Catholic college because, when starting college, “I had no real inklings of joining the priesthood.”

“There’s something to being in an atmosphere almost hostile to your faith and still being able to own it and preach it,” he said. “The church has always done well when it’s a minority, or when its values are being attacked. Much like it is in Madison. You see students and professors who reject God and don’t believe, and you see how miserable they are.”

Reesman graduated from UW in December 2000 with a degree in political science. He entered Saint Francis Seminary the next month.

“There are people who, as children, practice Mass in their basement, and I wasn’t like that,” he said. “I asked my mom about this recently and she said she always knew I was going to do something different. In my life I never really fit into a certain camp, so it’s kind of fitting that I ended up here.

“In college I would say my hobby was theology, but now it’s been my life,” he said. “So I’m open to suggestions for a new hobby. My hobby became my life; it’s really a dream come true when you think about it.”

Reesman attended a Catholic grade school and public high school. “When I was a kid, my parents had strong values and thought volunteer service was important, but not (explicitly) Catholic (volunteer work). My dad spent so much time volunteering and I always wanted to go with him, so I spent a lot of time volunteering and organizing things. In a way, it prepared me for what God is asking me to do now.

“This vocation, in a certain sense, is something God planned from the beginning,” Reesman continued. “As I look back on my childhood and high school, I can see how it led me here.”

Reesman said he is most excited to “just learn how to be a priest.” “We go through classes that are very helpful, but you never know until you actually do it,” he explained. “I’m looking forward to helping people connect with the Lord because I think that’s what people hunger for.”

However, Reesman admits there have been some challenges with his vocation. “Two things. One, always having to justify what I’m doing to the world. You meet people who knew you when you were younger and they say, ‘What are you doing!?’ The other challenge, from a personal, emotional standpoint, you always question if you could be wrong, is there a chance I made a mistake? As time passed, it’s subsided. There’s always a question of ‘Is this God’s will?’”

Reesman said another challenge was convincing family and friends of his calling. “They’re excited about it now,” he explained, “but at first they were a little leery of it. It caught my parents by surprise. I also think it’s true that families can be hostile to it because it’s so counter-cultural. There’s a very American sense of culture shock. But to their credit, they gave me a chance to explore it. They supported me and now they’re excited.”

After spending the last five years with his fellow seminarians, Reesman knows it will be an adjustment when they no longer live together at the seminary.

“Priests need to make community a priority, especially today,” he said. “I hope we continue to get together and hold each other up because you cannot do this alone.”

Reesman said he owes a lot of gratitude to the parishioners of St. Mary, Burlington and Holy Family, Fond du Lac, where he served as a deacon. Parishioners from churches, as well as family and friends, plan to be at his ordination May 20.

Reesman felt it was important to let his ex-girlfriend know that he had entered the seminary. About two years after their relationship ended, he called to tell her. “She wished me the best,” he said. “I very much owe her for where I have wound up.”