Experiencing Christ’s Peace at St. Augustine’s

It has been two years since Fr. Christian Lindenbach was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Regina. He is now pastor of two rural Saskatchewan parishes – St. Peter in Lumsden and St. Jerome in Regina Beach – as well as an assistant to the Archbishop at the Chancery Office.

It is a busy life of a young priest – one filled with many rewards and some challenges. But it is a life he feels he was well prepared for during his formation at St. Augustine’s Seminary.

“The majority of what I use in my ministry is just learning how to be with people and try and show them the reality that God loves them despite difficulties,” he says. “It's human formation. There's a reason why Jesus entered humanity to sanctify us, to bring us to an understanding of God's love through our humanity.”

He says his courses in pastoral psychology and counselling have been particularly valuable in his parish ministry.

“I'm really thankful for people like Dr. Mary Marrocco (St. Augustine’s Sessional Lecturer) and Dr. Josephine Lombardi (Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor, Systematic and Pastoral Theology) for providing opportunities to say ‘here are some real-world concerns that you'll encounter. Here are some helpful tools to help you navigate those situations.’”

He says he has had to lean on that knowledge on countless occasions.

“If I am ministering to someone who is just getting a diagnosis, or if someone's family is breaking down, it’s good to have a vocabulary through which you can navigate those conversations and help people.”

Fr. Lindenbach first entered St. Augustine’s in 2013 but left after a year, uncertain of his calling to the priesthood. He returned home to Saskatchewan and was dating someone, even considering marriage. But he didn’t have peace about where his life was heading. He felt God’s prompting to return to the Seminary in the Fall of 2017, driving 2,500 kilometres from Regina to Toronto. He arrived in the middle of the night and headed straight to the chapel.

“I got into the chapel. I sat down. It was like two in the morning. I was the only person in the chapel, and for the first time in a very long time, the chaos and noise stopped. It was just peaceful. That, to me, was one of the most consoling experiences of my Seminary formation.”

It is that peace that only comes from Christ and continues to carry him in his busy priestly ministry.

Listen to Fr. Christian’s vocation story below, starting at 26:10.