By RENEE WEBB
Content and Design Coordinator
As retirement nears for Father Brian Hughes, reflecting on his priestly ministry brings back fond memories.
“The priesthood has been more delightful, more fun and more rewarding than I ever thought possible,” said the pastor of Milford St. Joseph and Spirit Lake St. Mary Parishes. “I have had a wonderful life as a priest and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it.”
Father Hughes called the priesthood a wonderful adventure and a beautiful challenge. As he has served God’s people, the priest mentioned he has tried to personally grow spiritually and become a holier man each year – a lifelong process.
Many roles
Throughout his 43 years of priestly service in the Diocese of Sioux City, he has held various roles.
“I taught school, worked in administration at schools, went to graduate school, was the vocations director for 13 years and have been a pastor in several parishes,” he said. “I have loved every single assignment. Everyone was different but all were delightful.”
In addition to his current assignment, through the years Father Hughes served at St. Lawrence Parish, Carroll; St. Joseph Parish, Le Mars; Gehlen Catholic High School, Le Mars; Bishop Heelan High School, Sioux City; St. Anthony Parish, Hospers; Spalding Catholic High School, Granville; Sacred Heart Parish, Sioux City; St. Boniface Parish, Sioux City; St. Patrick Parish, Estherville, St. Mary Parish, Armstrong; St. John Parish, Ogden; Sacred Heart Parish, Boone and St. Malachy Parish, Madrid. He has also served as the director of seminarians, assistant director of vocations, director of the Office of Vocations for the Diocese of Sioux City and served in campus ministry at Briar Cliff College in Sioux City.
This native of Emmetsburg attended Loras College in Dubuque and St. Meinrad School of Theology in Indiana. He also earned a master’s degree in architectural history from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He was ordained on June 6, 1981, at St. Thomas Church, Emmetsburg.
Having knowledge about church architecture prompted the diocese to call upon him to coordinate the major renovation of the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City 25 years ago. That was when Father Hughes was vocations director and resided in Sioux City. That was also a time when he served at Briar Cliff and was often master of ceremonies for the bishop.
“It wasn’t just that I was working an office job or just going to visit and recruit seminarians, but I had these other jobs along with it,” he recalled. “So, I have never been bored. Even when I was teaching at Heelan, I helped at Nativity on weekends and had 6 a.m. Mass on weekdays at the Franciscan convent in Sioux City. Every job has had some extra responsibilities that were very wonderful.”
Preacher and teacher
Father Hughes pointed out that the priesthood has been a good fit for him because he loves to preach and teach.
“I think I was a born teacher. My mother was a teacher, my grandmother was a teacher and her sisters were teachers,” he said. “I grew up in a family that prized education and I received instruction from the BVM sisters at the grade school in Emmetsburg. I always enjoyed my classroom work.”
Having the opportunity to preach to and teach people about Jesus, the Scriptures and church life, Father Hughes stressed, has been one of the joys of priesthood.
Some of the most powerful experiences, he noted, have come during times of crisis as it is “when I most feel like a priest. I am there to bring Jesus into a situation. That’s a holy thing.”
A recent profound experience that brought tears to his eyes came earlier this spring when he anointed about 95 people during a special service in Spirit Lake.
“For the most part, I had a window into all of their lives of one degree or another and the beauty of that in prayer while there was music being sung was just about the most beautiful liturgical experience I’ve ever had than possibly my ordination,” said the priest. “I can’t believe, even now after 43 years that God has let me use my body, my voice and my energies for his honor and glory. I am still surprised about that and amazed that God has chosen me to be a priest.”
Some profound experiences came during times of difficulty. The COVID-19 pandemic, Father Hughes, was hard for all of the priests when the churches were closed and they celebrated Mass alone possibly in front of a camera. He was blessed, he added, to have had an assistant at the time who celebrated Mass with him at a distance.
Serving in Boone at the time, he was often called on a regular basis – several times a week - to minister to those in the COVID unit at a hospital in Ames.
“Sometimes people’s own families would not be permitted into those rooms, so I knew I was there for a very specific reason. I wasn’t there to chat about the weather. I was permitted to go in there for a very sacred purpose and that was awe-inspiring and humbling,” said Father Hughes, who noted he sometimes passed messages from the families in the lobby to the patient. “Those kinds of moments of crisis are especially important in the life of a priest because it’s very clear who he is or should be.”
He stressed during those times he was not present as Brian Hughes but was there to bring Jesus to the people.
Aside from reduced numbers stretching priests thin, Father Hughes said it has been difficult to see so many families have some members that no longer go to church.
“That’s a wound at the heart of the church, a wound in my ministry and in many families,” he said. “A priest sometimes stands in the breach between parents who have been loving and faithful and their children who don’t care. That is one of the hardest things I’ve had to deal with as a priest.”
God’s grace
Father Hughes said early on, through the seminary and repeated through his life, the grace of God provided him – through his parents, grandparents and the lifestyles they chose – with the ability to ask God what he wanted to do with his life.
“God’s province has been with me in every part of my life,” he said. “I feel God called me from my mother’s womb to be a priest and I feel God has sustained me at every stage of my life as a priest and poured his grace in me.”
The pastor noted he is not perfect; he can be sinful and sometimes fail.
“I am very conscious every day that I am a human vessel, but the priesthood was a pretty good fit. I like to study, teach, read and I enjoy people,” he said, noting he likes church music, artwork and architect. “I’ve been in love with the church since I was a kid.”
Raised in a home where his parents went to daily Mass, Father Hughes mentioned he was only one of his six siblings that got up regularly to go to daily Mass before school.
Regarding vocations to the priesthood, Father Hughes said vocations come from families and from parents “who have the courage to say to their children, ‘You can be anything you want to be, so be sure to ask the Lord what he wants you to do.’”
To parents, he would ask them to be brave. Some may not want their sons to become priests because they don’t think it’s a happy life. Father Hughes mentioned he would tell parents, “A son who becomes a priest is destined for great adventure, a beautiful adventure.”
Not only has he enjoyed being a priest, but he said his family has too. He connects differently to his siblings than they do with each other and he shares a closeness with his nieces and nephews.
“A priest opens himself to be part of other people’s lives,” he noted, mentioning the connections he has formed with parishioners, seminarians, bishops and brother priests.
In retirement he plans to stay in Milford and help Father David Hemann, the newly assigned pastor, with daily and weekend Masses.
“I enjoy helping to assist the poor. In our own county it is a wealthy place but there is also hidden poverty,” he explained. “I will try to work with the food pantries and want to do a little writing and research on some of our early priests.”
Father Hughes’ current parishes are each hosting a retirement party for him.
Spirit Lake St. Mary – A 6:30 p.m. gathering will be held in the parish hall on June 15 with pulled pork sandwiches, beverages and table service provided. Guests are asked to bring a side dish or dessert to share.
Milford St. Joseph – On June 29, the parish will host a party at 5 p.m. in the parish hall with pulled pork sandwiches, cake, beverages and table service provided. Attendees are asked to bring a dish to share. All are welcome.