My name is Fr. Daniel Sedlacek (“Sed–LAH–check”), which is a Bohemian/Czech name. I grew up on my parents’ dairy farm just outside of Cornell, Wisconsin, with my three brothers and five sisters. My K-12 education was all at home. The Catholic Faith and working together on the family farm were the primary facets of growing up. One of my favorite things to do while growing up was to serve Mass at my home parish of Holy Cross in Cornell.
I first experienced God’s call to the priesthood when I was in fifth grade, when I read a book about the life of St. Francis Xavier, one of the greatest missionaries in the entire history of Christianity. There were many other small “signs” and “hints” that God was calling me to the priesthood, although it took me some time to recognize those signs and even more time to accept His summons. With God’s grace and the encouragement of a local youth minister and permanent deacon, I decided to enter seminary right after graduation from high school.
I attended St. John Vianney College Seminary at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota for my first four years of philosophy studies and then was sent to study theology for four years in Rome, Italy. I was ordained a priest at the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman in La Crosse on June 25, 2016.
For my first two years as a priest I was the associate pastor at St. John the Baptist parish in Marshfield and Christ the King parish in Spencer, and the chaplain to Columbus Catholic High School and Middle School in Marshfield. In 2018 I became associate pastor at St. Mary’s in Altoona and St. Raymond’s in Fall Creek and Chaplain at Regis Catholic High School and Middle School in Eau Claire. I became the pastor at St. Charles parish and Chaplain at Aquinas High School in La Crosse in August 2020.
I give thanks to God for summoning me into a friendship with Jesus Christ and for calling me to the priesthood, for giving me three grace-filled assignments thus far. I love working as administrator of our parish school so that we can continue to provide a high-quality Catholic education for the next generation!