Nicholas Paltz

Hello, my name is Nicholas Paltz and I am one of the new seminarians of our great Archdiocese. I am from the rural and very scenic village of St. Helena, Nebraska. I have grown up there all my life under the care of my loving parents, Victor and Michelle Paltz, and am the third child of five in my family. My parish is Holy Family Parish of Cedar County. It is the same parish as my fellow brother seminarian Adam Pinkelman.

I first felt the call of the vocation of the priesthood when I was young, fourth grade to be exact. That was when my parish priest, Fr. Eric Olsen, came to our parish. He really showed me how big of an impact priests have on people. His intelligence, wit, humor, care, and his actions towards others made an impact on my life. His witness as a great priest really made me start thinking about the priesthood. As I grew older, everything made sense. The priesthood had all I wanted, from helping others, teaching, preaching, and the amazing impact priests could leave on people, I felt really drawn towards it. Another bright influence in my life was my cousin, Fr. Jeremy Hans. He has had an active part in my life. He was my confirmation sponsor and he was the person I went to for my first spiritual direction. His readiness to always be there for me and help me has really inspired me. These two great men have made a major influence in my life and I would not be here without them.

Seminary has been amazing! I am surrounding by such great, helpful, and friendly guys. It made the transition from high school to college simple and one never needs to worry as they will help with any of your problems. Also, the fraternity, the brotherhood you build with these guys is great! It has been such a terrific time and a huge blessing!

For those of you who are reading this and are considering the priesthood, I say to go all in! If you have just an inkling of wanting to be a priest, then go on a seminary visit. Seminary is the place for discernment. Most people think that once you are in seminary you will be a priest, and that is not true. Seminary is all about discerning, and it is a true win-win scenario. If you discern to be a priest, that’s great! If you discern and you are not called to be a priest, that’s great! Now you know for sure, and you can search for your vocation. The process of becoming a seminarian is a tad long, and may be a little confusing at times, but don’t worry about it and push through because it is worth it in the end.

In my free time, I love to do a lot of things. I enjoy reading, watching old tv shows from the 60s and 70s, watching comedy or sci-fi movies, video, board, and card games, listening to some jazz or classical music, playing my instruments, eating, rooting for my favorite sports teams, and hanging out with my friends. Seminary has been a true gift. No words can relay my immense gratitude to our Archdiocese and God enough for giving me this true blessing. God bless you!