Father Matt Solarz; The Newest Priest in the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings
Priest from the Diocese at the ordination service
Father Matt concelebrating the Ordination Mass.
Deacon Bob England from Youngstown Ohio, a fellow seminarian at Sacred Heart Seminary in Wisconsin, serves as Deacon of the Word at the Ordination Mass.
Bishop Michel Warfel presenting the Chalice and Paten to Father Matt saying, “Receive the oblation of the holy people to be offered to God, understand what you do, imitate what you will celebrate, and conform you life to the mystery of the Lord’s Cross.”
Father Matt being anointed with Holy Chrism.
Father Tom Kowatch of the Diocese of Cleveland, a previous pastor, vesting Father Matt.
Laying on of hands by Bishop Michael Warfel.
Deacon Matt lays prostrate in humility as the “Litany of Supplication” is sung.
Bishop Michael Warfel asks Deacon Matt, “Do you promise respect and obedience to me and my successor?”
Deacon Matt makes his Promise of the Elect “Dear son, before you proceed to the Order of the Priesthood, you must declare before the people your resolve to undertake this office.”
Father Matthew Solarz became the newest priest in the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings on June 8, following his ordination at St. Ann’s Cathedral.
Fr. Matt is what the church calls a “second” vocation, meaning he experienced God’s call to the clergy later in life than most seminarians. His road to the priesthood was a long and winding path that led to 2016, when he entered seminary formation for an apostolic society called the Glenmary Home Missioners. This community focuses on Appalachian counties in Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas, and Georgia in what they call “No Priest Land, USA”. The goal of Glenmary is to bring the Catholic faith to under-served and largely marginalized rural communities, establishing new Catholic churches there.
“I was blessed to meet some wonderful people during my time with that community, both inside the society and among the parishioners,” Fr. Matt said, “But I always had this nagging feeling – from day one – that I was called to diocesan ministry, and I couldn’t shake it. Before I was to renew my oath (religious vows) for a third time, I decided I needed to explore opportunities to serve the church in parish ministry.”
But what would lead a man from Ohio, who had spent most of his ministry in rural Appalachia, to Eastern Montana?
“I loved Glenmary’s missionary charism. I wanted to explore serving in a diocese that was largely rural, had a great need for priests, and was missionary in nature and open to evangelism,” Fr. Matt explained. In addition, both of Matthew’s parents had been ill since he entered religious formation, and he knew that he would one day soon have very few ties to his hometown in the Midwest. With this in mind, relocation to a different part of the country was much less a concern.
Fr. Matt narrowed his search to two dioceses – the Diocese of Belleville, IL and the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings – both of which were listed on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops website as dioceses in great need, receiving much of their support from Catholic Extension.
His first stop was Belleville, IL which looked promising but didn’t work out. As he packed his things there following a month of mutual discernment, the phone rang – it was Msgr. Dan Wathen, the vocations director for our diocese. “Are you still interested in coming out to see us?” he asked.
The rest, as Fr. Matt says, is history.
“God works in strange, mysterious, and often roundabout ways. We just need to be open to what he’s trying to say to us. I think Great Falls-Billings is where I was meant to be all along. Had I stayed in Illinois and later learned what I know about our diocese – the people, the parishes, the chancery staff, the clergy – I would have likely been a very, very unhappy man knowing what I had missed,” he said.
Fr. Matt has two adult children, Kelsey Lawrence, 30, of Aurora, CO, and William, 26, of Cleveland, OH. He is now serving his first assignment as the Associate Pastor of St. Matthew’s in Sidney and their affiliated missions and helps the diocese as the Assistant Director of Vocations.
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