Hail and blessed be the Holy Trinity through our Lord Jesus Christ, who pours himself out for us every day!
What a great gift, and what gratitude I have, to begin working alongside each of you here in South Central Wisconsin for the greater glory of God.
My name is Nickolas (Nick) Wingerter. I am married to Christina, and father to Patricia, Poirier, Fulton, and Felix.
We moved to Wisconsin this summer from Montana to join Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison and the chancery staff as the associate director of the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis.
Please pray for me and my family as we settle in and get acquainted with the beautiful area.
I come originally from Great Falls, Mont., where I was born and raised. I attended the University of Montana in Missoula for my undergraduate degree in humanities.
After college, I joined the Montana Army National Guard, serving my state and country for 13 years, deploying twice to the Middle East, and commanding two aviation companies before resigning in 2023.
This past spring, I completed my masters of arts in catechesis and evangelization from Franciscan University in Steubenville.
I had worked at the parish level in Great Falls for the last eight years, coordinating OCIA, adult catechesis, supervising youth and elementary formation programs, evangelization, and teaching at our parish Catholic school.
The résumé, however, only paints a partial, practical picture.
The journey of the last 10 years has been that of conversion and grace.
While I am a Catholic from birth, my maturation in the Faith has been a long, slow process with Christ drawing me deeper into the divine mysteries.
With my wife Christina, I have reoriented my life, little by little, day by day, on the perfecting power of Jesus, who is absolutely the hero of my story.
I am far from complete, but in the hands of our Lord and through the sacramental ministry of His Church, I am growing closer to Him every day — and this is the joy of my life.
This past spring, Bishop Hying and his staff invited me to visit as part of the interview process for this job.
A key component of the work is to assist the priests, pastorates, and parishes to develop and foster Missionary Disciples as articulated through the “Go Make Disciples” initiative.
Since my first visit to Wisconsin in March, I have found a deeply spiritual and profoundly Catholic culture here.
The priests and people of God of our diocese organically proclaim the joyful truth that our God is hard at work cultivating saints — right here, right now.
Conversely, there are many souls in our communities, whom our Father loves and Jesus came to this earth to save, who are drifting, desperate to find a lasting goodness, objective truth, and radiant beauty.
Yet, the message of salvation has not quite impacted those who need it most.
We live in an amazing time. God has positioned us perfectly to reintroduce Jesus and, by His grace, to resurrect the life of our Christian culture.
Jesus Himself, our Lord and our God, commands us to bring the Good News of His redemption and accompany them into the flock He shepherds.
Do not be afraid, do not shy away; our God is with us and He will prevail.
Many thanks to everyone who has made our transition to Wisconsin as painless as possible.
We are together a family of God filled with a love that can change the world.
Believe it is possible! Fix your eyes on the promise of eternal joy! And together, let us pour out His love into our neighbors for the greater glory of God!
Nickolas Wingerter is associate director of the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis for the Diocese of Madison.