St. Ambrose warmly welcomes Fr. Jared Holzhuter as our new chaplain!
Fr. Jared, a Janesville native, attended UW-Madison where he received a bachelor’s in English. He attended Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Michigan where he earned a Bachelor of Philosophy, a Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology (STB), and a Master of Divinity degree. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Madison in 2017 and serves the Diocese as full-time Vocations Director.
As chaplain, he looks forward to spending time at St. Ambrose two mornings per week, getting to know the families and students better through his presence in the school, being available for conversations and support, and of course offering the Mass and confession during the school day.
Parents are the primary educators of their children, but Fr. Jared also knows how important having other witnesses to the Gospel can be for a young person. Looking back on his own life, Fr. Jared recognizes the importance of becoming a virtuous person, practicing the sometimes-small habits that allow us to be free to truly surrender to God, relying on Him and not our own strength.
With experiences at Camp Gray as chaplain, Love Begins Here as a seminarian, and parish catechesis done during his college years, Fr. Jared now looks forward to being in a school environment and available to help young people in those pivotal moments of their own lives. Through his presence in the school and the conversations he can have with students as he gets to know them (and they get to know him), he hopes to help students identify the challenges holding them back from following Christ in their daily lives.
As the Vocations Director of the Diocese, Fr. Jared is focused on supporting Catholics in their vocational discernment, offering opportunities like pilgrimages, nun runs, discernment nights and getting to know people and walking with them in their discernment.
His experiences and his own love for the Lord are a wonderful complement to the mission of St. Ambrose Academy and we are blessed to have him as a part of this community. Welcome, Fr. Jared, and thank you for your ‘yes’ to the Lord!
