Meet Fr. Matt
Meet Fr. Matt
Hello, I am Fr. Matthew Christiaens, and it is a great joy to be here at Resurrection University Parish! I was born and raised in Valier, Montana where my dad is the town butcher and my mom taught school for 32 years before retiring to provide daycare for my nieces and nephew. A cradle Catholic, I am the second of four boys. Growing up in small-town Montana, I loved playing high school football and basketball and I still love to follow all Montana Class C Sports. I have always loved school, rainy weather, and the chocolate.
When I was 10 years old, I spent a day alone with my grandma Marge, a rarity as she had 50 grandchildren. She asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I told her I wanted to be a doctor or a teacher, but most importantly I wanted to do something great. She told me the greatest thing a person could do with their life is to help another soul get to heaven. Something about the way she said this convinced me it had to be true, but I wasn’t sure exactly how I could help souls.
In my junior year of high school, my brothers and I were called upon to help remove water from the flooded basement of our home parish, St. Francis of Assisi. Standing in nearly six inches of water, using a snow shovel to push the water to a water pump, a flyer came floating near my feet. Picking it up, I saw that the flyer read, “Why not be a Priest?” This happened in 2009. Completely unaware at the time, consumed in a life of self-absorption and worldly attachment, I would later learn this flyer was a part of the Year of the Priest which Pope Benedict XVI inaugurated that year on the Solemnly of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Reading “Why not be a Priest?” for some reason that day touched my heart and remained with me.
This event also influenced my decision to attend Carroll College. Unsure of who I was or what I was supposed to do with my life, I knew the Catholic Church has always been a sturdy foundation in my life. The desire for greatness sent me looking in many different places, but I had always found myself coming back to the Church when those other things failed me, so I figured with a Catholic education I could not go wrong. As a student I changed my major 7 times before graduating with a degree in Clinical Psychology and Theology. My goal was to aid people in their journey to healing, as I have experienced many beautiful moments of healing in my own life. However, as I began to attend daily Mass and make a daily Holy Hour I realized healing without God’s grace, sacraments, and mercy is incomplete. As a student at Carroll College, I was also able to participate in many mission trips to our Diocesan Mission in Guatemala, De La Salle Blackfeet School in Browning, Homeboy Industry’s in East LA, and Christ in the City in Denver. These experiences, along with a key pilgrimage to Assisi and Rome, awoke in my heart a love for the poor and the mission of the Church. I joined a discernment group and began to work for Fr. Marc Lenneman and Campus Ministry. With Fr. Marc’s guidance I was able to discern God calling me to give seminary a try after graduating.
For seven years I was blessed to attend St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver, Colorado. My first year, called Spirituality Year, was an opportunity to quiet my life and really listen to God. We had a media fast and were only allowed to make phone calls on Saturdays. I completed a 30-day Poverty Immersion, where I was given a bus ticket to live and serve in a homeless shelter about 500 miles from Denver without money or a cell phone. The year also ended with a 30-day Silent Retreat based on St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises. After completing my Spirituality Year, I studied Philosophy for two years and Theology for four years. I was able to discern with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, and while I still have a great love for the poor, God called me to serve in our Diocese of Helena and I was ordained to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ on June 24th, 2022. It happened to also be the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
My hobbies include basketball, volleyball, fly fishing, and skiing. I enjoy studying Moral Theology, Virtue Ethics, Neuropsychology and Trauma Therapy, and Sacred Art. My little brother and I love writing sketch-comedy and love to watch SNL, Parks and Rec, and 30Rock. My heroes are St. Matthew, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Fr. Benedict Groeschel, Sr. Clare Crockett, and Sr. Miriam James. I read Brideshead Revisited every Christmas and All the Light We Cannot See every Easter. I like Italian and Mexican foods to both eat and cook. John 10:10 is my favorite bible verse. If I were to die tomorrow, I hope people would say of me, “This is a man who loved greatly, ever prayed for others, and spent himself in their service all for Jesus.”
Bishop Vetter has sent me here to focus my ministry “primarily on the students of Montana State University, with emphasis on prompting vocations to priesthood and religious life.” I am excited to be a part of Campus Ministry using my experiences to help build up and encourage our students to embrace Jesus, and pursue a life given over to Him. As Jesus called Matthew, He calls each of us saying, “Follow me.” The greatest joy of my life has been responding to this call, and I count it the highest honor to be called by Bishop Vetter into the mission of helping young people answer God’s calling. Please remember to pray for me!
When I was 10 years old, I spent a day alone with my grandma Marge, a rarity as she had 50 grandchildren. She asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I told her I wanted to be a doctor or a teacher, but most importantly I wanted to do something great. She told me the greatest thing a person could do with their life is to help another soul get to heaven. Something about the way she said this convinced me it had to be true, but I wasn’t sure exactly how I could help souls.
In my junior year of high school, my brothers and I were called upon to help remove water from the flooded basement of our home parish, St. Francis of Assisi. Standing in nearly six inches of water, using a snow shovel to push the water to a water pump, a flyer came floating near my feet. Picking it up, I saw that the flyer read, “Why not be a Priest?” This happened in 2009. Completely unaware at the time, consumed in a life of self-absorption and worldly attachment, I would later learn this flyer was a part of the Year of the Priest which Pope Benedict XVI inaugurated that year on the Solemnly of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Reading “Why not be a Priest?” for some reason that day touched my heart and remained with me.
This event also influenced my decision to attend Carroll College. Unsure of who I was or what I was supposed to do with my life, I knew the Catholic Church has always been a sturdy foundation in my life. The desire for greatness sent me looking in many different places, but I had always found myself coming back to the Church when those other things failed me, so I figured with a Catholic education I could not go wrong. As a student I changed my major 7 times before graduating with a degree in Clinical Psychology and Theology. My goal was to aid people in their journey to healing, as I have experienced many beautiful moments of healing in my own life. However, as I began to attend daily Mass and make a daily Holy Hour I realized healing without God’s grace, sacraments, and mercy is incomplete. As a student at Carroll College, I was also able to participate in many mission trips to our Diocesan Mission in Guatemala, De La Salle Blackfeet School in Browning, Homeboy Industry’s in East LA, and Christ in the City in Denver. These experiences, along with a key pilgrimage to Assisi and Rome, awoke in my heart a love for the poor and the mission of the Church. I joined a discernment group and began to work for Fr. Marc Lenneman and Campus Ministry. With Fr. Marc’s guidance I was able to discern God calling me to give seminary a try after graduating.
For seven years I was blessed to attend St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver, Colorado. My first year, called Spirituality Year, was an opportunity to quiet my life and really listen to God. We had a media fast and were only allowed to make phone calls on Saturdays. I completed a 30-day Poverty Immersion, where I was given a bus ticket to live and serve in a homeless shelter about 500 miles from Denver without money or a cell phone. The year also ended with a 30-day Silent Retreat based on St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises. After completing my Spirituality Year, I studied Philosophy for two years and Theology for four years. I was able to discern with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, and while I still have a great love for the poor, God called me to serve in our Diocese of Helena and I was ordained to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ on June 24th, 2022. It happened to also be the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
My hobbies include basketball, volleyball, fly fishing, and skiing. I enjoy studying Moral Theology, Virtue Ethics, Neuropsychology and Trauma Therapy, and Sacred Art. My little brother and I love writing sketch-comedy and love to watch SNL, Parks and Rec, and 30Rock. My heroes are St. Matthew, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Fr. Benedict Groeschel, Sr. Clare Crockett, and Sr. Miriam James. I read Brideshead Revisited every Christmas and All the Light We Cannot See every Easter. I like Italian and Mexican foods to both eat and cook. John 10:10 is my favorite bible verse. If I were to die tomorrow, I hope people would say of me, “This is a man who loved greatly, ever prayed for others, and spent himself in their service all for Jesus.”
Bishop Vetter has sent me here to focus my ministry “primarily on the students of Montana State University, with emphasis on prompting vocations to priesthood and religious life.” I am excited to be a part of Campus Ministry using my experiences to help build up and encourage our students to embrace Jesus, and pursue a life given over to Him. As Jesus called Matthew, He calls each of us saying, “Follow me.” The greatest joy of my life has been responding to this call, and I count it the highest honor to be called by Bishop Vetter into the mission of helping young people answer God’s calling. Please remember to pray for me!