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 Your One Stop Shop At 808 W. 23rd, Yankton Servicing Residential, HVAC & Electrical Contractors Residential & Commercial New Construction, Remodels Repair & Service Electrical Contractors Radon Mitigation Kaiser Heating Fast & Reliable Yankton’s Geothermal Heating, Cooling & Fireplace Specialists & Cooling 605.665.2895 14vHISVOICEvJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 Power Source Electric 605.260.8683 605.689.0452