Father Thomas Sieg

Father Thomas Sieg

Father Thomas Sieg, 75, grew up in south Minneapolis and was one of seven men ordained in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in 1971. Yet he and Father Jerry Keiser were the only ones ordained on May 22. That year, he said, the preference was for ordinations to take place in parishes instead of the traditional location, the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

The seven ordinands met with Coadjutor Archbishop Leo Byrne at the chancery to discuss the change and state their preference for ordination location. Father Sieg and Father Keiser desired the Cathedral, and the other five their home parishes. Archbishop Byrne said he would grant the request from the two ordinands, but Father Sieg remembers saying that “we’d be like peas in a boxcar.” He believed “two ordinations in that great big cathedral would be ridiculous. We should all do it the same.”

So, Fathers Sieg and Keiser picked the first available dates for ordination outside of the Cathedral of St. Paul. But instead of being ordained at his parish, St. Peter in Richfield, Father Sieg asked if his ordination could take place at the newly remodeled chapel at the Academy of Holy Angels, also in Richfield. So that’s where he was ordained. Father Keiser was ordained at his home parish, then-Visitation in Minneapolis. Because the two priests were ordained before the other five, they were able to concelebrate the ordinations of some of their classmates.

Now retired, Father Sieg served as both a parish priest and as an instructor in sacramental theology and homiletics at The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul. He said he learned something everywhere he ministered.

For one, he has learned the value of listening, whether as teacher, preacher or pastor. “Somebody told me that early on,” he said, “and I just came to value it more and more.”

“The longer I live, I have got to be a good listener,” he said. “A good preacher is important, too, but I’ve got to be a good listener.”

Asked what he’d say to a new priest, Father Sieg suggested that they should never hesitate to ask others if they are unsure about something. “If there’s something you’re wondering about, you’re not sure how to deal with it, don’t hesitate to ask,” he said. “It would be foolish to be living with or even to know a priest who’s had more experience, who you admire or respect, and not ask for help, ask for ideas.”

When Father Sieg was assigned to Risen Savior in Burnsville as pastor in 1988, the church was undergoing a major renovation of the worship area. With plans made before he arrived, he figured he wouldn’t need to make any decisions.

“Well, I discovered when you’re building something, there are always decisions that have to be made,” he said. “Something will have to be added, something will have to be subtracted and you’re going to run out of money. You can’t have all the windows you thought you were going to have.”

Father Sieg said he’s also learned how important it is to listen before acting, to try to get to know the people before making a lot of decisions for a parish. “Try to appreciate what the former pastors have done and not just criticize what the former pastor said because you’re going to be the former pastor pretty soon.”