Fr. Nathan Budde becomes newest priest of the Diocese of Green Bay
By William Van de Planque | On Mission
GREEN BAY, WI — The newest priest of the Diocese of Green Bay, Fr. Nathan Budde, was ordained to the priesthood at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral this past Saturday, May 30, 2026.
Just over a year ago, Fr. Budde was ordained to the diaconate in the same place, and had been serving St. Leonard Parish in Muskego, Wisconsin, for his teaching parish assignment as a deacon, “where he learned much of the ins and outs of parish life,” said Bishop David Ricken, the principal celebrant at the ordination Mass.
Fr. Budde also assisted Fr. Dave Beaudry at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Newton for the past semester as he completed his preparation for his priestly ordination.
Principal concelebrants of the Mass included Abbot Bradley Vanden Branden, O. Praem., and Abbot Dane Radecki of St. Norbert Abbey, as well as priests of Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona, Minnesota, and St. Francis de Sales Seminary and Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology in Milwaukee, where Fr. Budde studied theology and received priestly formation, among others.
“As a priest, Deacon Nathan is most looking forward to hearing confessions and offering a word of counsel, as it has been a blessing for him to have received much beautiful counsel himself in this important sacrament over the years,” Bishop Ricken said in his homily.
“Deacon Nathan has been blessed to have many influential priests in his life, perhaps most importantly, Fr. Daniel Schuster,” Bishop Ricken said.
In an interview with On Mission, Fr. Schuster spoke about the importance of family life, closeness to the liturgy, and awe and wonder at the mysteries of God in Fr. Budde’s vocational discernment.
“The Budde family is a family that strove to live good, ordinary, holy lives,” Fr. Schuster said. “Family life was a very important catalyst for prayer and for discerning a vocation.”
He spoke about the benefit of proximity to the sacraments and different liturgies in practicing prayer and discernment early in life.
“I think the number one influence (was) regular participation in the liturgy and that, of course, it flows from there and into the home,” he said.
Fr. Schuster, who Budde also chose to be his confirmation sponsor, recognized the importance of respecting Budde’s freedom to discern the call and not simply acting as a recruiter when accompanying him as a spiritual guide.
“Part of my accompaniment was to completely respect his freedom, teach prayer, foster conversation, and just be there,” he said.
Fr. Schuster spoke about a theme in Budde’s journey toward the priesthood to which Bishop Ricken alluded during the Mass.
“From early on, Nathan had curiosity and awe and wonder for the presence of God,” Fr. Schuster said.
During his homily, Bishop Ricken told a story about a young Nathan Budde that was relayed to him by Fr. Schuster, who lived at St. Francis Xavier Rectory in De Pere and served as vocations director for the diocese at the time that Budde was in the seventh grade, attending Notre Dame of De Pere Catholic School.
Bishop Ricken described a morning when an ambulance came to the home of a woman who lived across the street from the school that Fr. Budde attended. More than 100 students playing in the parking lot rushed to the fence to see what was happening.
By the time Fr. Schuster arrived on the scene and went into the home of the woman to offer the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, all the students had lost interest, except for Budde, who stayed at the fence watching the work of a priest.
Fr. Schuster described the look on Budde’s face “as one of curiosity, wonder and awe,” Bishop Ricken said. “Although he was only in the seventh grade, it was the same look a good priest has when approaching the sacred mysteries.”
See more photos here: onmiss.io/buddepriesthoodphotos