The Rev. Donald J. Wolf, pastor of St. Benedict Catholic Church in Shawnee, recently celebrated his 28th anniversary of ordination into the priesthood.
Wolf grew up on a farm outside of Wheatland in south Oklahoma City. He was one of six children of Don and Rose Ann Wolf. He recollected that one strong tie that jelled the family together was life in the church.
“I was born into and grew up in a family for whom faith was simply part of life,” Wolf said. “There was no separation between our day-to-day living and our relationship to God. That may have been the greatest gift of all.”
The family was close-knit and always attended church together. He became an altar boy when he was old enough and he signed on to be a lector when the opportunity arose.
His extended family was just as religious. Two of his cousins were ordained to the priesthood when he was young – one from his father’s side, the Rev. Jim Koelsch, and one from his mother’s side, the Rev. Stanley Rother.
Despite the devout Catholic family background, Wolf never considered becoming a priest when he was growing up, he wrote in his memoir “The Story of My Vocation.”
However, things started to change when he entered Oklahoma State University in 1973. He initially went there with the intention of studying aeronautical engineering on a ROTC scholarship. As he explored his options into the future, Wolf became involved with the student chapel at St. John’s Catholic Church on campus.
There he met Father Bob Schlitt, who had arrived at Stillwater the same year. Schlitt’s influence on the young collegian was both life-shaping and everlasting.
“His pastoral zeal was evident everywhere and most especially among the college students,” Wolf wrote. “He was kind and caring and seemed very priestly in a traditional way. Every part of his personality communicated that his life as a priest was the most important thing to him and to us. He is the one person who most directly contributed to my decision to become a priest.”
By the second semester of his sophomore year at OSU, Wolf began to ponder the possibilities of a priestly life. He started thinking about entering the seminary.
In April of 1975, just after the Holy Saturday Vigil Mass, he went to Schlitt’s rectory and confided in him that God was calling him to join the priesthood. After that, things started moving in that direction swiftly. By the following August, he was enrolled at St. Meinrad Seminary College in Indiana.
While at St. Meinrad, Wolf took a special interest in studying the Mexican-American culture and developed an understanding of the needs of the recent immigrants from Mexico. He also learned to speak Spanish fluently.
Wolf graduated from St. Meinrad College in 1977. He received his master’s degree in divinity from St. Meinard School of Theology in 1981 and was ordained to the priesthood on May 16, 1981. He later obtained his doctorate degree in ministry from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill., in 2003.
Since his ordination, Wolf has served primarily in parishes with sizeable Hispanic populations. His first assignment was associate pastor of Guymon, a parish with a solid Spanish-speaking majority. Since he arrived at the Shawnee parish, Wolf has embraced the Hispanic community by offering a Spanish Mass at noon every Sunday.
Wolf has also served as pastor of St. Francis Xavier in Enid, Sacred Heart in Mangum, Prince of Peace in Altus, Holy Angels and Sacred Heart in Oklahoma City and the Assumption parish in Duncan.
In addition to parish ministry, Wolf also has offered his priestly service and talents in other ways. He has dedicated his service to the people throughout the archdiocese in the Cursillo movement as the spiritual director for countless Cursillos weekends in English and Spanish.
Wolf also served his fellow priests throughout the U.S. for eight years as a member of the National Federation of Priests’ Councils executive board. From 1997 to 2000, he worked full-time in Chicago as president of the NFPC. During his term as president, he worked on numerous projects designed to foster the priestly ministry and to address concerns of priests.
Within the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, Wolf has served, among other positions, on the Archdiocesan Vocations Board, on the board of directors of Catholic Charities and as chairman of the Archdiocesan Continuing Education Committee. He was also founder, producer and host of the weekly radio program La Voz Catolica.
Despite the various posts Wolf has held, his core passion lies in pastoral work. He believes there is no work more central to life of the Catholic Church than being a pastor.
“It is here in the parish, where the challenge of the gospel meets the lives of individual people, where the great promise of Christian life is met. That’s where I want to be,” Wolf said.
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The Rev. Donald J. Wolf, pastor of St. Benedict Catholic Church in Shawnee, recently celebrated his 28th anniversary of ordination into the priesthood.
Wolf grew up on a farm outside of Wheatland in south Oklahoma City. He was one of six children of Don and Rose Ann Wolf. He recollected that one strong tie that jelled the family together was life in the church.
“I was born into and grew up in a family for whom faith was simply part of life,” Wolf said. “There was no separation between our day-to-day living and our relationship to God. That may have been the greatest gift of all.”
The family was close-knit and always attended church together. He became an altar boy when he was old enough and he signed on to be a lector when the opportunity arose.
His extended family was just as religious. Two of his cousins were ordained to the priesthood when he was young – one from his father’s side, the Rev. Jim Koelsch, and one from his mother’s side, the Rev. Stanley Rother.
Despite the devout Catholic family background, Wolf never considered becoming a priest when he was growing up, he wrote in his memoir “The Story of My Vocation.”
However, things started to change when he entered Oklahoma State University in 1973. He initially went there with the intention of studying aeronautical engineering on a ROTC scholarship. As he explored his options into the future, Wolf became involved with the student chapel at St. John’s Catholic Church on campus.
There he met Father Bob Schlitt, who had arrived at Stillwater the same year. Schlitt’s influence on the young collegian was both life-shaping and everlasting.
“His pastoral zeal was evident everywhere and most especially among the college students,” Wolf wrote. “He was kind and caring and seemed very priestly in a traditional way. Every part of his personality communicated that his life as a priest was the most important thing to him and to us. He is the one person who most directly contributed to my decision to become a priest.”
By the second semester of his sophomore year at OSU, Wolf began to ponder the possibilities of a priestly life. He started thinking about entering the seminary.
In April of 1975, just after the Holy Saturday Vigil Mass, he went to Schlitt’s rectory and confided in him that God was calling him to join the priesthood. After that, things started moving in that direction swiftly. By the following August, he was enrolled at St. Meinrad Seminary College in Indiana.
While at St. Meinrad, Wolf took a special interest in studying the Mexican-American culture and developed an understanding of the needs of the recent immigrants from Mexico. He also learned to speak Spanish fluently.
Wolf graduated from St. Meinrad College in 1977. He received his master’s degree in divinity from St. Meinard School of Theology in 1981 and was ordained to the priesthood on May 16, 1981. He later obtained his doctorate degree in ministry from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill., in 2003.
Since his ordination, Wolf has served primarily in parishes with sizeable Hispanic populations. His first assignment was associate pastor of Guymon, a parish with a solid Spanish-speaking majority. Since he arrived at the Shawnee parish, Wolf has embraced the Hispanic community by offering a Spanish Mass at noon every Sunday.
Wolf has also served as pastor of St. Francis Xavier in Enid, Sacred Heart in Mangum, Prince of Peace in Altus, Holy Angels and Sacred Heart in Oklahoma City and the Assumption parish in Duncan.
In addition to parish ministry, Wolf also has offered his priestly service and talents in other ways. He has dedicated his service to the people throughout the archdiocese in the Cursillo movement as the spiritual director for countless Cursillos weekends in English and Spanish.
Wolf also served his fellow priests throughout the U.S. for eight years as a member of the National Federation of Priests’ Councils executive board. From 1997 to 2000, he worked full-time in Chicago as president of the NFPC. During his term as president, he worked on numerous projects designed to foster the priestly ministry and to address concerns of priests.
Within the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, Wolf has served, among other positions, on the Archdiocesan Vocations Board, on the board of directors of Catholic Charities and as chairman of the Archdiocesan Continuing Education Committee. He was also founder, producer and host of the weekly radio program La Voz Catolica.
Despite the various posts Wolf has held, his core passion lies in pastoral work. He believes there is no work more central to life of the Catholic Church than being a pastor.
“It is here in the parish, where the challenge of the gospel meets the lives of individual people, where the great promise of Christian life is met. That’s where I want to be,” Wolf said.
