Encounter

Fr. Ian Wintering was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted on June 5th at All Saints Catholic Church in Mesa. Configured to Christ the High Priest Fr. Ian Wintering ordained to the priesthood By Joyce Coronel D uring a lavish liturgy steeped in tradition at All Saints Catholic Church in Mesa, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted ordained Fr. Ian Wintering the newest priest for the Diocese of Phoenix. Priests and religious from throughout the diocese prayed alongside hundreds of friends, family and faithful, many of whom had accompanied Fr. Wintering throughout his vocation journey. Years of prayer, study and preparation culminated in the Rite of Ordination that took place following a reading from the Gospel of Matthew in which Christ commanded the Apostles to be servant leaders. Fr. Paul Sullivan, director of the Office of Vocations and rector of Nazareth House, presented Fr. Wintering to Bishop Olmsted. “I testify he has been found worthy,” Fr. Sullivan said. Reading the prescribed text of the Roman Rite of Ordination, Bishop Olmsted called on those present to “consider carefully the nature of the rank in the Church” to which Fr. Wintering was about to be raised. Need for fathers He then spoke to Rev. Wintering: “You will exercise the sacred duty of teaching in the name of Christ the Teacher. Impart to everyone the Word of God which you have received with joy… see that you believe what you read, that you teach what you believe, and that you practice what you teach.” Bishop Olmsted spoke about the harm caused by the absence of fathers in current times, telling Rev. Wintering that “the need for faithful fathers could not be greater” and that while remaining humbly aware of their own weaknesses, priests’ “primary duty is to help others become children of our Heavenly Father.” He cited a “practical atheism which sees God as the enemy of freedom rather than the Savior who sets us free. “Our people need priests with trust in the Lord’s mercy, who walk humbly with the Lord and His people,” Bishop Olmsted said. For his part, Rev. Wintering answered with a resounding “I do” to several questions put forth by Bishop Olmsted, which included promises that he would “pray without ceasing,” and become “united more closely every day with Christ the High Priest.” He also promised obedience to Bishop Olmsted and his successors. Rev. Wintering lay prostrate on the floor before the altar as those gathered chanted the Litany of the Saints. — ORDINATION, Page 6 Kairos retreat, mentoring unveil vocation F r. Ian Wintering grew up in the East Valley, the second of three sons. It was a Kairos retreat he experienced during his senior year at Seton Catholic Preparatory that first sparked the call to priesthood. As he sat by the lake contemplating, he thought of the Apostles and how they willingly embraced martyrdom rather than deny their faith in Christ. “All of them but John gave their lives. And it hit me: Am I willing to do the same thing?” Fr. Wintering said. “It was at that moment priesthood starting popping up. And I ran from it for three years.” The challenge of living a radical life is what continued to attract him. “If I truly believed this faith, if I believed that Jesus died and rose, was I willing to give everything?” Fr. Wintering asked himself. He realized he needed to “at least give God a shot” and see if he was called to priesthood. This was unexpected, he said, because, “like every young boy, all I wanted to do was get married and have a son and teach him how to play baseball.” It was Fr. Will Schmid, at that time chaplain at Seton as well as pastor at St. Mary Magdalene, who showed him that priesthood wasn’t quite what Fr. Wintering imagined it to be. “He was the first young priest I ever met, the first priest where I realized their life wasn’t just sitting in a dark room with a candle and reading the Scripture with a feather,” Fr. Wintering said. As the realization dawned on him that priests were normal men living in the modern world, it was a jolt of reality. From there, Fr. Schmid became Fr. Wintering’s regular confessor and spiritual director. Fr. Wintering graduated from Seton, then went on to Scottsdale Community College for coursework in film study. He attended Mass at St. Mary Magdalene and the conversations with Fr. Schmid continued, including talks about a call to the priesthood. Eventually, Fr. Schmid invited him to — VOCATION, Page 6 Encounter Commemorative Ordination Edition June 5, 2021