Seminarian interview: Jacob Tschida

What seminary are you attending and where are you in the formation process? 

I am currently attending the Pontifical North American College in Rome. I will be entering the Configuration III Stage, which is the fancy way of saying I have two years left until ordination! 

When is your birthday? 

June 30, 1999. 

What’s your home parish? 

Immaculate Heart Church in Crosslake. 

Tell me a little about your family. 

My family is incredible. The further I’ve gone in my seminary journey I’ve realized how much of a family journey it is and not just my own personal vocation path. My younger sister, Megan, is the youth minister at St. John’s in Duluth and she just graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth. My older sister, Colleen, is an occupational therapist and just got married this summer! So for the first time, I have a brother in the family. My parents, Joe and Tracy, raised us kids with a love for camping, playing board games together, and staying involved with sports, church, and music. 

Is there an email address where people can write to you? 

Yes! [email protected]. 

If people wanted to ask the intercession of a particular saint for you, what saint would you choose? 

This question is easy. There is a saint that was pivotal in moving my heart back into discerning the priesthood after I had left seminary, and now I get to visit him every week in Rome. Please pray to St. Pope John Paul II for me! 

What are some of the things you like to do in your spare time? 

Before I moved to Rome, I loved to go mountain biking and would go every chance I could. However, in Rome I have neither mountains nor a bike, so I’ve had to find other activities. Currently, I enjoy running, chatting with friends, and hiking. 

What is your favorite devotion (and why)? 

Devotions seem to come in and out of season for me. The one devotion I will pray every day is the rosary, because I’m convinced Mary’s heart is the most direct route to the heart of Jesus. Besides this though, this past Lent I really enjoyed praying the Stations of the Cross on Fridays. 

What’s the best thing about your home town? 

The lakes. You’re never more than a couple miles of seeing the best Minnesota has to offer: blue water reflecting the white birch and green pine trees. 

What person has been the biggest help to you so far as you discern a call to the priesthood? 

The greatest guidance I received in seminary came from the hands of the late Bishop Paul Sirba. In the midst of my first year of seminary, I had decided I wanted to leave; seminary just wasn’t what I thought it was. But Bishop Sirba took the time to call me several times and encouraged me just to stay the course for the rest of the year. It was his investment in me and his concern that I hear the voice of God that instilled in me a desire to surrender my will over to the will of God. I’ve seen that desire grow more and more over the years, and its initial planting as a seed was done by Bishop Sirba. 

What does the priesthood mean in the life of the Church? 

The image of priesthood in the Church is Christ washing the feet of His disciples. God entrusted the Church with sacraments to communicate His divine life until the end of time, and to distribute those sacraments God entrusted the Church with priests. Priesthood is, therefore, a pouring of one’s life out like water on the lowest places of people’s lives. It’s communicating the grace that Christ won for his Church, most especially in the sacraments but also by his very person. The priest takes on the identity of Christ as one who came not to be served but to serve and to give his life for many.