DEACON STEINACKER ORDAINED TO PRIESTHOOD
Bishop John M. D’Arcy ordained Deacon Anthony Steinacker, of Fort Wayne, to the priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church on Saturday, October 28, at 11:00 a.m. in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Fort Wayne.
Following the ordination Mass, the congregation was invited to a reception luncheon to be held at the nearby Grand Wayne Center.
Preparation for Deacon Steinacker’s ordination to the priesthood have been completed. Recently, he spent five days at Gethsemani Retreat Center in Kentucky to draw close to God in quiet prayer as he humbly embraced his calling to the priesthood. “It was a time to reflect on where I’ve been and pray about the beautiful ministry I am ordained into as I serve God’s people and Church,” he said. Before leaving on retreat, there was the typical planning associated with any ceremony of this magnitude. The invitations had to be sent, the food menus confirmed, the ordering of vestments for a six-foot, five-inch man purchased and the ceremonies planned. The St. Charles Borromeo Parish community also has been praying for the future Father Steinacker as they anticipate his being assigned to their parish.
The youngest of six siblings who all were educated at St. John the Baptist School and Bishop Luers High School in Fort Wayne, Deacon Steinacker credits his parents, James J. and Mary A. Schmitt, who sacrificed in many ways to provide a Catholic education for their children: George, Jeffery, Stephen, Andrew, Angela and Tony. Their love for family and church inspired his family members to live their lives as best they could in accordance with God’s will and church teachings, he related. In a recent note to his parents, Deacon Steinacker wrote, “They helped to shape my thoughts and values and in countless other ways they have been a wonderful example of Christian love and charity.”
Deacon Steinacker said he remembers considering the priesthood as early in fourth grade when he was an altar server. Priests were influential in his life from the very beginning, he related, including the late Fr. Christopher Hickley, Msgr. James Wolf, Fr. Bill Kummer, Fr. John Delaney and Fr. Jeff Largent, who also taught him at Bishop Luers.
In addition, Fr. Adam Schmitt — a retired priest in residence at St. Joseph Parish who has been a priest for nearly 50 years and is an uncle to Deacon Steinacker — was a “wonderful example of what it means to be a faithful and holy priest,” he continued. “Just having him being close to our family was what further led me to consider being a priest. He planted the seed, which encouraged me to pursue this calling. In many ways, he was my first vocation director,” Deacon Steinacker concluded.
Deacon Steinacker attended Ivy Tech and was employed at Scott’s Food in Fort Wayne before entering the seminary in 1997 at St. John’s Seminary College in Boston. He completed his theological studies for the priesthood at Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. On January 8, 2005, was ordained a transitional deacon in the Cathedral. Since July 15 of this year, he has been ministering at St. Charles Borromeo Parish, Fort Wayne.
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