Our Catholic Priests
vCora Van Olson
Yankton is in the unique position of having two parishes as well as
a monastery in town. There are four priests working in Yankton today,
and though they are constantly on the move visiting the sick, taking
confession, celebrating the mass and performing weddings, baptisms
and funerals, most of us don’t know them very well.
Father Larry Regynski has been the pastor for Sacred Heart Parish
for a few years, and Father D’Cruz Nicholas is a recent addition as
associate pastor for Sacred Heart Parish. Father Scott Traynor is the
pastor of Saint Benedict Parish and Father Odermann Valerian serves
the Benedictine Sisters at Sacred Heart Monastery and the students of
Mount Marty College.
In this article each of them tells the Press & Dakotan about
themselves and their lives before joining the priesthood.
Father Scott Traynor
I was born and raised in the Twin Cities;
Eagan which is a suburb of Saint Paul,
Minnesota. I attended St. Joseph School in
West St. Paul through the 8th grade, then
attended Saint Thomas Academy for High
School, graduating in 1990.
In High School and College I had many,
many part-time jobs during the School year
and would work full-time in the summers.
Everything from lawn care and snow
removal, to Burger King and Pizza Hut, to truck driving for North Star
Ice and working at the Eagan Public Library.
I went to Iowa State on a Navy ROTC scholarship where I majored
in Computer Engineering. I had summer trainings with the Navy, but
never served active duty. My plan was to become a Navy Pilot.
In college I was a gopher for the Dean of the College of Education’s
Office and a sound and light technician for the Ames City Auditorium.
I credit my experiences working many different jobs and participation
in sports growing up as the best human formation experiences of my
life in preparation for priesthood.
Also, it was thru many experiences of volunteering from a young
age that I began to learn that real and lasting happiness is found in
helping and serving others instead of seeking things for myself.
The summer after my sophomore year of College, I ended up
volunteering at a Young Life Bible Camp in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota,
called Camp Castaway. I spent all of July, 1992, at the camp. During
that time Scripture (in particular Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians)
really came alive for me. I woke up one morning fully convinced 1)
that God had a plan for my life; 2) That his plan would make me the
most happy in life and 3) That I had never asked God what that plan
was, and I should, and I wanted to.
The more I thought about those things the more joyful I became.
So, I decided to take a year off of college and do missionary work and
ask God to show me his plan for my life. I ended up working with the
National Evangelization Teams (NET) Ministries. NET trains 18-30
year olds to conduct retreats for junior and senior high school students
in the U.S. and Canada. That was a life-changing experience for me,
and it was during my year with NET that I felt God’s call to give my life
as a Catholic Priest.
I left Iowa State after my junior year to enter seminary formation.
I went to Immaculate Heart of Mary College Seminary for two years
and completed a B.A. in Philosophy. For major seminary I attended the
Pontifical North American College in Rome from 1996-2000, receiving
a S.T.B in Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. After
Ordination in 2000, I spent two Summers at Catholic University of
America to complete a J.C.L. in Canon Law.
I was ordained a Priest for the Diocese of
Sioux Falls on June 23, 2000.
Father Larry Regynski
My hometown is Woonsocket, South
Dakota. I went to nursing school and when
I graduated I worked as a registered nurse
at a long-term care facility in Woonsocket. I
loved nursing: taking care of residents, their
vPRIESTS continued on page 18
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