Becker ordained to transitional diaconate
Globe staff report
Posted July 11, 2002

WESLEY - The gifts of God are many and for Nickolas Becker, the newest deacon in the Diocese of Sioux City, this is the most special time in his life because he answered God's calling and discovered the gift of ordination.

Elected by Bishop Daniel N. DiNardo, and with the consent of those present at the St. Joseph Church here on June 28, Deacon Becker is expected soon to be Father Becker - 10 weeks and a day after the ordination to the transitional diaconate.

St. Joseph was filled with family and friends, including his great uncle, Father Nickolas Becker, a retired diocesan priest who served as one of the role models during the young man's growth.

There was no shortage of role models for Deacon Becker. His great uncle had a brother, Luke, who became a monk of Conception Abbey in Missouri. And their sister became Sister Clare, O.S.F.

On his mother's side, Becker was also influenced by Father Louis Studer, O.M.I. - another native of the St. Joseph parish. He is a priest of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and is serving as director of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, Ill.

Perhaps the most important role model to Becker, however, was his Grandmother Becker who was the family's matriarch until her death in 1996.

During the ordination, Becker said he was thinking about his grandmother, wishing that she had lived to see him ordained.

With that kind of background, it is no surprise that the 27-year-old native of Wesley said his ordination was probably the most special day in his life, a life that has been filled with many spiritual moments.

"Vocation is a blessing," Becker said, discussing his ordination. "I was once told that the priesthood is where God's deepest desires and ours meet."

The young man, one of three men who are expected to be ordained as priests this year in the diocese, said that God "has certainly given the call" to him, adding that he expects "the priesthood to be a most rewarding way of life."

A product of solid Catholic education, he attended Seton Grade School and Garrigan High School in Algona. In 1998, he graduated from Notre Dame with a major in history. Right after graduation, he went to St. Meinrad Seminary in southern Indiana and studied for the next four years.

Despite the recent child abuse scandal to hit the church, Becker said he never had a doubt about his faith or the thought of joining the priesthood.

"In fact," he explained, "when people found out that I was studying to become a priest, they would talk to me about a number of deeply personal things because they know that priests can be trusted and that they are caring people."

He said there is even a bright side to the child abuse issue, saying that it is "giving people a chance to stand up and discuss how they feel about their priests."

Bishop DiNardo, in his homily during the ordination, made the point strongly that all priests must be celibate and chaste as a way of life.

Becker said that once he took the oath of obedience at the ordination he would keep his promise and go where "God wants me to go."

"I will try to be a holy priest," Becker said.

Born in nearby Britt, and raised in Wesley, Becker is the third of five children. His parents are Robert, a contractor and farmer, and Mary, a homemaker. His two brothers are Tom and Dennis, and he has two sisters, Sherri and Beth.

Besides daily prayers, Becker says that he is a heavy reader, enjoys movies with friends and family, and a treadmill that he uses every now and then.

Looking ahead 10 or 20 years, Becker says he hopes to become the pastor of a small-town Iowa parish.

Thinking about it for a moment, he added, "But I will go where God directs me.