Bio of Fr. Jeremy
Let me begin with a big thank you! Thank you to the parishioners and staff of St Monica for your warm welcome, generous patience, and kind assistance in making my transition into parish life so smooth. St Monica is a wonderful parish and I am certain I will enjoy my time serving and ministering among and with you.
I have been told that many people have read the biography the Criterion published on my in anticipation of my ordination in June 2009 and a few of you have even watched my brief video interview on the Archdiocesan Vocations website. However, let me take a few minutes to introduce myself to you.
I am an Indianapolis native, having grown up on the southeast side in Nativity of Our Lord Jesus parish. My parents, Bob and Kathy, are still living and worshiping at Nativity. I have three brothers and a sister. The three older siblings are married, and my youngest brother is engaged. My sister and younger brother live in Indianapolis, while the other two brothers are out of state. We all attended grade school at Nativity followed by high school at Roncalli. I then pursued a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in civil engineering at Purdue University – West Lafayette. My area of interest was structural engineering. During my undergraduate degree, I participated in a co-operative education program during which I rotated between school at Purdue and work for an engineering firm in Noblesville every other semester. This extended my bachelor’s degree by a year but provided me with two full years of engineering on-the-job experience. I worked primarily on industrial, manufacturing, and some commercial projects. The firm also specialized in historical restoration work, particularly for exterior facades. I was a regular daily mass attendant, extraordinary minister of the Eucharist, and served at the Sunday masses. During my graduate school program, I took a semester off to hike the entire Appalachian Trail, which runs 2200 miles from Mt. Springer, Georgia to Mt. Katahdin, Maine. After finishing my master’s at Purdue in May of 2002, I accepted a job in Fort Wayne. Following a Christ Renews His Parish weekend at St. Vincent de Paul parish, I went on team. During the formation period, the possibility that I might be called to the priesthood, something I had wrestled with on and off for several years rose to the surface again. With the support of my team, I decided I needed to address the discernment more directly. So, I returned to Indianapolis, accepted a new engineering position, and began discussions with Fr. Joe Moriarty in the Archdiocesan vocation’s office.
After more than a year of prayer, retreats, interviews, and the affiliation process, I started seminary at Saint Meinrad School of Theology. I particularly enjoyed my systematic theology and pastoral counseling courses. I was involved in various leadership positions in CACD, a non-profit, which administers an energy assistance program to a tri-county region around St. Meinrad. During my seminary training, I had several different summer placements. I spent a summer in Omaha, NE at the Institute for Priestly Formation, which is a spiritual summer for diocesan priests and seminarians. I enjoyed a summer with the Richmond Catholic Community as a seminarian in residence followed by a summer as a hospital chaplain at Methodist hospital. Last summer, I completed my mandatory supervised summer placement assignment at St. Pius X here in Indianapolis.
I have a number of hobbies. During college, I was a member of the Purdue Fencing club. I enjoy the outdoors, including hiking, camping, and canoeing. I enjoy woodworking, and while at Saint Meinrad, I began making stained glass pieces. I also enjoy traveling and have visited ten different countries, among which Egypt was my favorite and India my most recent.
I am fortunate to be here at St. Monica. It is a large and vibrant parish, which will allow me numerous opportunities to get involved as a new priest. I look forward to getting to know more of the parish in the coming weeks and months. God Bless.
Fr. Jeremy M. Gries
