Above: Father Benjamin Schrantz
Parishioners embrace newly ordained Father Benjamin Schrantz
By Eileen Jevis, staff writer
Father Benjamin Schrantz was ordained a priest for the diocese in June and now serves at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Mary’s and St. Augustine Churches in Baldwinsville. We caught up with him to ask him how his life as a newly ordained priest is going.
Like many combined parishes in the diocese, Fr. Ben and Father Joe O’Connor, pastor of the pastoral care area (PCA) in Baldwinsville, take turns celebrating Mass at the parishes and area nursing homes as well as administering the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Penance and Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, and Holy Matrimony. They also attend multiple administrative and program meetings that take place each week. Their days are long yet fulfilling.
Fr. Ben said he loves being a part of the rhythm and life of the parish. “I went from seminary to being a priest in a very short period of time,” he shared. “Being raised as a member of a single parish and being assigned to a single parish as a seminarian was much different than now serving at three, large, vibrant and diverse parishes.”
Then transitional ‘Deacon’ Ben as he heads into the Cathedral for his priestly ordination
Father John Manno is the Vicar for Clergy and serves as a liaison between the bishop and priests. When he was interviewed in June for the ordination of Fr. Ben and Father Pawel Zmija (who is serving in the Rome area), he said that for newly ordained priests, the first assignment is a crucial one: “It’s where they cut their teeth.”
“Bishop Lucia puts a lot of prayer, thought and dialogue into first assignments,” he added. “Fr. Ben and Fr. Pawel were assigned to parishes where there is plenty of work to do and where there is a pastor that will accompany them in their first days, weeks, months and years as a priest.”
Fr. Joe said that working with a newly ordained priest for which everything is new was a learning curve for him, too. “In the early weeks, I would ask Fr. Ben if he would do something and he would respond, ‘Sure, if you show me how.’ He is a quick learner and a joy to work with.”
Fr. Joe shared that Fr. Ben’s initiative and leadership shines through, especially with nursing home Masses and the Youth Ministry Program. “I often hear how much they appreciate his great preaching and they comment on how at ease he is. It’s hard to believe he’s newly ordained,” he said. “He is a great gift to the parishes in Baldwinsville.”
“Each of the three parishes I serve is alive in spirit and moving with the spirit in their own ways,” said Fr. Ben. “I get so much joy from meeting and talking with parishioners, hearing confessions and being a part of the Quo Vadis youth group. It’s been a joy and blessing to serve while learning ‘how to be a priest.’ And I am so grateful for the support of my family and the friends I have made along the way — both lay and ordained.”
