For accountant, variable was call to priesthood

Philip Bogacki to be ordained Aug. 1

By Maryangela Layman Román
Catholic Herald Staff

ST. FRANCIS — The future seemed to add up for accounting major Phil Bogacki. With his undergraduate degree in business administration from Marquette University, Bogacki was poised to pursue a master’s degree before starting a lucrative career as a certified public accountant.

Yet, as his graduation neared, and Bogacki reviewed his plan, he realized he hadn’t factored into account a hidden variable: an unmistakable calling to the priesthood. As this call to religious life became stronger, Bogacki found the pieces of his life no longer added up to a future as a CPA. Rather, Bogacki knew he needed to investigate the call which had first come to him as a student at Pius XI High School.

Instead of moving in with several friends after college, who were likewise ready to start their careers, Bogacki entered Saint Francis Seminary to begin a journey that will continue with his ordination as a priest of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee on Friday, Aug. 1 at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.

In an interview with your Catholic Herald at Saint Francis Seminary two weeks before his ordination, Bogacki said he believes his route to priesthood “worked out providentially.”

“I think the (accounting background) will be very beneficial. It’s a way of thinking that will be very useful. Something that I think our churches are lacking is good, solid administrative skills so that we can more easily and effectively proclaim the Word of God,” he said, adding that nearly every pastor he meets tells him that the accounting background will be invaluable.

Catholic education a priority

Bogacki, 27, also explained that the decision to study accounting was a conscious plan as he wanted to “keep all my options open in the event I wasn’t being called to priesthood.”

The older of Patricia and Alan Bogacki’s two sons, Bogacki graduated from St. Roman Elementary School and Pius XI High School.

Catholic education was a priority for the family, noted Pat, a part-time receptionist at Layton Terrace Retirement Home, who said she worked three jobs to help pay the tuition for her sons.

“It was a struggle, but it was a value to my husband and me. We felt it led to good morals and better moral standards,” said Pat, noting that both she and Alan, a network administrator, are products of Catholic education.

While the Catholic faith was a constant for the Bogacki family, Pat said she considers them “an average family. I read in the Catholic Herald about the other families, boys in the seminary studying to be priests, and they all seem so extraordinary. We did not home school and there were so many things we did not do,” she said, admitting her son’s religious vocation came as a surprise.

From ‘girl chaser’ to seminary

Describing him as a “girl chaser in ninth grade,” Pat said she was shocked when her son, who had been accepted to graduate school, told her he was instead entering the seminary.

“At first it was a shock, but we’re proud, pleased and glad he’s followed God’s call,” she said, adding, “Alan and I wish him the best and have no qualms he followed the right path. We’re sure this was meant to be.”

During his sophomore year at Pius, Bogacki, who was a member of the school newspaper and active in student government, recalls stopping in to see Fr. Tony Zimmer, then school chaplain.

“I made sure his door was closed,” said Bogacki, recalling how he first approached the priest about his possible vocation. “Fr. Tony was right there to answer all my questions. He was very supportive and (later) took me on a tour of Saint Francis Seminary.”

Even though Bogacki had begun to question a possible vocation, he kept these thoughts from friends and family, “because I did not want to be put in a box. At that age, it is a radical idea and I did not want to be pinned into an idea without people knowing that I am much more than thinking about priesthood. I think there was also some fear involved; I was afraid of what people would think. It was unusual for people that age.”

When vocation office mailings began arriving at his home for him, he recalled “trying to explain (them) away, telling (his parents) I was just on a mailing list, it was no big deal.”

Coincidence helps mother, son

But Fr. Zimmer’s appointment as pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Parish, the Bogacki family’s parish on Milwaukee’s south side, was one more indication that the call to priesthood was real, said Bogacki.

“He ended up, by coincidence, at my home parish, and his being there was a big affirmation,” said Bogacki.

Fr. Zimmer also served as a mentor to the future priest’s mother.

“It was a very weird coincidence,” said Pat of Fr. Zimmer’s appointment to their parish. “Fr. Tony left me with a good impression of what being a priest meant. He walked me through pretty much of it. I remember I’d call him up in tears sometimes, just to talk. He introduced me to his mother and anytime I had a question (about her son’s future), I went to him. He was a very good mentor.”

Meeting seminarians was convincing

Bogacki also got to know the other seminarians and found they were much like himself, making him more comfortable with the decision.

“In the end, one of the biggest factors was the fact they were so healthy, normal, fun, faithful and committed men who clearly had many options in life. They could be married, could be excellent fathers,” he said, describing how the group would meet twice a week to pray the rosary together.

After a year at Saint Francis Seminary, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan asked Bogacki to complete the remainder of his studies at the American College of the Immaculate Conception in Leuven, Belgium. A pontifical university which recently celebrated its 150th anniversary, the institution, headed by rector Msgr. Ross Shecterle, a priest of the Milwaukee Archdiocese, has 12 seminarians which Bogacki likened to the 12 apostles.

Living at the seminary and studying at the Catholic University of Louvain has been a “wonderful experience,” said Bogacki, noting he has received “an amazing theological education – unparalleled in the level of academics, scholarship and love of the faith.”

Following his ordination, Bogacki will return to Belgium for one more year to complete an S.T.L. in systematic theology.

Before returning to Belgium, however, Bogacki will spend the month of August at St. John Vianney Parish in Brookfield.

Goal is to be parish priest

Looking at his future, Bogacki is most anxious to serve as a parish priest.

“My goal going in has always been to be in a parish,” he said. “I think the world’s greatest job is to be in a parish – there are many things one can be called to in the church. My goal is always to do the will of God, not to do my own will.”

Bogacki said he hopes to emulate priests like Fr. David Reith, pastor of St. Dominic Parish, Brookfield, where he spent two summers as an intern.

“The biggest thing I respect about him is he has nothing to prove. He has proven himself through many years of being a dedicated servant of Jesus Christ and he doesn’t look for attention; he just does the best of what he is called to do, day by day,” said Bogacki of Fr. Reith. “He was open to dialogue with younger people like me and younger clergy.”

Although Bogacki noted that younger clergy are, at times, unfairly stereotyped as being too conservative or traditional, he looks forward to building bridges.

Calling the stereotypes “unfortunate,” Bogacki said he loses patience with the perspective.

“We all need to be serving Jesus Christ and get up every morning to intentionally recommit ourselves to doing that,” he said, adding, “I wish that people who have those opinions are open to dialogue and open to diversity and to working and of being tolerant in the truest sense of the word, and I hope that I am too.”

While his rigorous schedule leaves little free time, Bogacki looks forward to eventually taking up his two hobbies: running and reading. He hopes to run a marathon in the next five years and enjoys reading classics and biographies.

“The biggest challenge for me, and I think for men today, is the same as with marriage – it’s very hard to commit to something lifelong in today’s society, said Bogacki. “It’s hard to commit to lifelong marriage and that’s a big vocation shortage in itself and that is the same thing in religious life. It’s something only God can get us through.”