Staff List

Staff Member: Rev. Nathaniel Miniatt

Rev. Nathaniel Miniatt

I have been serving St. Mary and Sons of Zebedee since June 18, 2019. On June 18, 2024, in addition to continuing as pastor of those two parishes, my appointment as pastor of Sacred Heart, St. Mary in Mayville, St. Andrew in LeRoy, and St. Theresa takes effect. This will be quite the new adventure! My role as the parish priest is ultimately three-fold: teaching the faith, sanctifying God’s people by celebrating the sacraments with and for them, and governing with Christ-like love. I will be collaborating with Fr. Ed Kornath and Fr. Mark Brandl to provide pastoral care for all of us.

To share a bit more about myself: I managed my parents’ dairy farm my last three years of high school (my dad was a full-time engineer at the time). I am a fiddle player (I started when I was 12 and I still play!), and enjoy playing for my family’s annual barn dance. After high school (I was homeschooled all the way!), I entered St. Joseph College Seminary (Loyola University) in Chicago, where I studied for two years. After that, I transferred to the American College in Leuven, Belgium (Catholic University of Leuven), where I completed a Bachelor’s in Philosophy. The next educational stop was the Pontifical North American College in Rome, where I earned a Bachelor’s in Theology (STB) from the Gregorian University. After ordination to the priesthood, I continued to work on a License (think Masters in American terms) in Liturgy at the Pontifical Athenaeum Sant’Anselmo. I completed the Sacred Liturgy License (SLL) in 2021. I was able to defend my thesis by zoom; it was nice not to have to travel back for that! I had two short term summer assignments in 2014 and 2015 as an associate pastor at St. Frances Cabrini and St. Mary in West Bend. In 2016, I was appointed the associate pastor of St. John Vianney in Brookfield. In 2018, Fr. Kornath became the pastor there and we had a good year ministering together. Who knew that we would be assigned together once again in 2024!

There are many reasons I like being a part of the parish! I love the people of the parishes, and I find helping them to grow in holiness to be incredibly rewarding. I like that these are rural, small-town parishes that still have an intimate feel. I appreciate the beautiful, historic church buildings, since they help people to draw closer to God through the transcendence of the art and architecture.
I am looking forward to getting started at Sacred Heart! Please know that you are already in my prayers. Kindly keep me in yours.

In Christ,

Fr. Miniatt