Our Priests

Fr. Andrew Apostoli is a very dear and holy priest of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal led by Fr. Benedict Groeschel. Ordained by Bishop Fulton Sheen in 1967, he has been active in teaching and preaching retreats and parish missions and in giving spiritual direction. He is the author of several books and is frequently featured on EWTN. He now acts as Vice-Postulator for the Cause of Canonization for Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.

Fr. Anthony Gramlich is a member of a religious community called “The Marians of the Immaculate Conception”. For two years, he worked as the Director of Vocations. For six years, he worked first as the Assistant Rector and then as the Rector of the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, MA.

Fr. Anthony is currently the Assistant Director of Evangelization and the coordinator of the Divine Mercy lay apostolates.

Fr. Anthony has conducted numerous parish missions, retreats and healing Masses around the country. He is the Director of the Diocesan Charismatic Renewal for the Springfield, MA and the local chaplain for the Mother of Divine Mercy prayer group. He is also the chaplain for the New England Rachel’s Vineyard Ministries (a pro-life healing retreat for men & women who have experienced an abortion). Fr. Anthony also has a certification in spiritual direction and is the Provincial Liturgist for his religious community. He has been a priest for 10 years.

Fr. Bill McCarthy was ordained a priest in Rome and has been serving the Lord in the Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut. He is now a member of the Holy Apostles Community, and is the co-founder and codirector of "My Father's House" Spiritual Life and Retreat Center in Moodus, Connecticut. For more than 20 years, Fr. Bill has served the Lord with his Spirit filled teaching by giving retreats, parish missions, and spiritual direction. He has also authored several books which include "The Our Father," "The Joy of Being Catholic," "Mary in the Church Today," "A Personal Relationship with Jesus," and "Listening to God." Mary Alice Rossini, NP, a registered nurse and a team member of "My Father's House", often accompanies Fr. Bill, offering her spiritual insights and wisdom on inner healing.

Fr. Delix Michel is a native of Grande Riviere, Haiti, 140 miles north of Port-au-Prince. His seminary school was Grande Seminaire Notre Dame in Haiti. He left Haiti in 1990 and studied in Rome four years before coming to the United States.

Father is still very involved with the school he built in Haiti in 2001. This was before his assignment to Vandalia, IL to lead the faithful at Mother of Dolors Catholic Church. In July, 2009, Fr. Michel was transferred to St. Kevin's Catholic Church in Rosewood Heights and subsequently to Sts. Peter & Paul's in Alton, IL. On January 13, 2010, an earthquake destroyed most of Haiti, but Fr. Michel's church is still standing. Praise God!

Fr. Dwight Longenecker is a former Anglican priest converted and ordained Catholic priest. He holds a degree with Bob Jones University in Speech and English, he went to study theology at Oxford University and as an Anglican priest, served as a curate, a school chaplain in Cambridge and a country parson. In 1995 Fr. Dwight and his family were received into the Catholic Church, where he has spent ten years working as a freelance Catholic writer, contributing to over twenty-five magazines, papers and journals in Britain, Ireland and the USA. Fr. Dwight is the editor of a best-selling book of English conversion stories called "The Path to Rome - Modern Journeys to the Catholic Faith". He has written "Praying the Rosary for Inner Healing" and "Listen My Son", a daily Benedictine devotional book which applies the Rule of St. Benedict to the task of modern parenting, along with many others. He is a powerful speaker, hosting healing masses all over the country.

Fr. Emmerich Vogt, O.P. is a Dominican priest of the Western Dominican Province and is currently Prior Provincial for the Province. Educated by the Dominican Order at its seminary in California, Fr. Emmerich went on to receive a MA degree in Theology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, and a graduate degree in Near Eastern Religions from University of California.

For several years he was a teacher: a high school teacher in Oregon and Los Angeles, and a college teacher at Holy Rosary College in Fremont, California. Fr. now holds retreats regarding The Twelve-Steps toward freedom from addictions of all kinds and maintains the ministry The 12-Step Review, Christian Friends in Recovery. He has written many books pertaining to the spiritual life, prayer and conquering addictions. Many of his lectures are available on audio cd's and DVD's.

Fr. John Larson, M.I.C., a priest of the order of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, was ordained a priest on February 11, 2006, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, at the National Shrine of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. He serves as the Assistant Postulant Master for the Marian House in Steubenville, OH. Fr. John has a special oneness with our Blessed Mother and is an inspiration to many.

Fr. John Titus is the pastor of St Charles Borromeo Parish and chaplain to the Newman Center at Eastern Illinois University, both in Charleston, Illinois. He earned a Masters of Divinity degree from Blessed John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts, and was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Springfield in 1989. Fr. John is a priest with a gentle manner, delivering heartfelt talks that speak directly to the heart. He draws souls closer to Christ with his genuine, sensitive, and approachable style, and with the depth of his love for Our Lord and Blessed Mother.

Fr. Ken Hummel has been the Chaplain of St. Francis of Assisi Newman Center at Western Illinois University in Macomb, IL since 2002. He earned a bachelor's degree in theology at Franciscan University in Steubenville, OH, and received his Master's in Divinity at Mt. St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD. Fr. Hummel was ordained to the Roman Catholic Priesthood in 1998.

Fr. Mark Baron, MIC, leads many of our retreats throughout the year and is always a delight to have with us. He is a member of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception. Fr. Mark is a speaker on the Divine Mercy message and devotion, and is very knowledgeable in areas of healing and deliverance. He currently is the Superior of the House of Formation in Washington, DC, as well as Novice Master.

Fr. Meinrad Miller, OSB, is Sub prior, Vocations Director, and has been College Chaplain at St. Benedict's Abbey in Atchison, KS since July, 1994. He is well-known for his expertise in Sacred music, which he partially gained through undergraduate studies at Benedictine College.

Father Meinrad graduated from Benedictine College, completed his studies at St. Vincent's Seminary in Latrobe, PA, and was ordained a priest in 1994.

Fr. Pablo Straub is a missionary priest of St. Alphonsus Liguori's Redemptorist order. Ordained in the Hudson Valley in 1958, he now lives in Mexico and helped found two religious orders there. He has traveled to many countries, giving retreats and missions. As a major television personality, Fr. Straub has preached hundreds of retreats and homilies and has hosted a number of weekly television series. Fr. Straub adores Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, loves the Virgin Mary, and preaches with a passion born of love.

Although a number of interesting books have been written about Fr. Rookey and his charism of healing, when asked about his gift, Father simply says, "It is God's work, not mine - He does all the healing, I just pray."

In 1948, after having been healed miraculously from blindness as a child, Fr. Peter Mary Rookey joined the Servite Order in Ireland. Father has traveled the world using his charism, including many trips to Medjugorje. Fr Rookey continues to be active at his International Compassion Ministry near Chicago, and is still traveling to holy sites and in the footsteps of Jesus.

Fr. Tom was a gentle, loving Irishman, a Viatorian priest who served in the Boston, MA area. He was very active in Marriage Encounter, helping hundreds of couples realize the many blessings available through God's gift of marriage.

On June 5, 1996, 75 year old Fr. McCarthy was concelebrating Mass in the little chapel in the home of Audrey Santo in Worchester, Massachusetts. At the moment of the elevation, a small host lying on the paten began to bleed. Father McCarthy witnessed this event with his own eyes. His life would never be the same. He stepped out of retirement and started proclaiming the True Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist through his book "Forever A Priest" and by giving talks about his experience.

Fr. Tom passed away on Christmas Day, 2007. May he rest in peace.

Fr. Antonio G. Dittmer, S.T.L. was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Peoria on July 12th, 1997. He has a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy from St. Mary's University in Winona, MN, and went on to study Theology in Rome, Italy graduating with a Sacred License degree in Theology from the John Paul II Institute of Marriage and Family in Rome. He has served as the parochial vicar at Holy Cross Church in Champaign, IL, and later became chaplain at the High School of Saint Thomas More. Fr. Dittmer has a great love for the Apostles of the Interior Life, and spent 2 years as a member of the AIL. He is now at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona, MN. His gentleness and compassion are evident in all that he does and he holds a special place in the hearts of the OSMM Community.

Father Bill Casey is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and a 1979 graduate of Temple University. After graduating from college, he served as an officer in the U.S. Army. Upon leaving the Army, he entered the Congregation of the Fathers of Mercy. He studied Philosophy at Christendom College and Theology at Holy Apostles Seminary and was ordained to the priesthood in 1991. In 1997, Fr. Casey was elected the Superior General of the Congregation. Father attributes his call to the priesthood to the Mercy of God, his love for the study of Sacred Scripture, and his strong devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Father Casey is a nationally renowned speaker and a frequent guest on EWTN.

Fr. Wolfgang Seitz is originally from Germany. He is a member of the Order of Canons Regular of the Holy Cross, an international Order which has its Mother House in Austria. Father Seitz is the Superior of the Community in Detroit and the national Director of Opus Angelorum. He studied at the seminary of the Order in Anapolis, Brazil, after which he was ordained a priest in 2002. After his ordination he was sent to Detroit, for a pastoral year at Assumption Grotto Parish. Since then, he has been giving retreats and conferences throughout the United States.

Msgr. Swetland is a member of Envoy Magazine's editorial committee. He was ordained a priest in 1991 for the Diocese of Peoria. He received his undergraduate degree in physics from the United States Naval Academy, and was elected a Rhodes Scholar in 1981. He entered the Catholic Church while studying at Oxford. He has a B.A. and M.A. in politics, philosophy and economics from Oxford; an M.Div. and M.A. from Mt. Saint Mary's Seminary, and earned his S.T.L. and S.T.D. degrees from the Pontifical Lateran University where he studied at the John Paul II Institute in Washington, D.C.

He currently serves as director of homiletics and pre-theology at Mount St. Mary's Seminary and is the special counsel to the President for Catholic Identity and Mission and interim chaplain at Mt. St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

He has served as a theological advisor to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Illinois and currently is the executive secretary for the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars. Msgr. Swetland was named a Prelate of Honor in 2000 by His Holiness Pope John Paul II, is a Knight Commander for the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher, and is a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus.

Reverend Monsignor Stuart Swetland leads the President’s Council for Catholic Identity that promotes on-going discussions about implementing faith in everyday life across campus. He is the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Endowed Chair for Christian Ethics. The chair is responsible for investigating moral truth both in the light of human reason and the light of the Catholic faith.