Pastor Fr. Shane
Father Shane was appointed pastor of the Church of St. George on July 1, 2022, after serving as the Pastor of St. Gregory the Great in North Branch from 2002-2022 and Sacred Heart Church in Rush City from 2012-2022. He was ordained at the Cathedral of Saint Paul on May 28, 1994, by the late Archbishop John Roach. Following his ordination, he served as Associate Pastor for four years at St. Pius X in White Bear Lake. He was then appointed as the parochial administrator of St. Boniface and Ss. Cyril and Methodius Parishes in Northwest Minneapolis while at the same time serving as chaplain at the Academy of Holy Angels High School in Richfield. He also previously served as the associate pastor at Notre Dame Parish in Denver, CO and parochial administrator of St. Rafka Maronite Catholic Church in Lakewood, CO.
Fr. Shane is a native of Garden City, Kansas, born in 1962. During his grade school years, he grew up on a farm and attended Shallow Water Grade School. Following his high school graduation at Garden City Senior High School, he went to Conception Seminary College in MO and Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO. In 1985, he moved to Minnesota and completed his college studies in 1990 at Saint Cloud State University with a BA in philosophy. His seminary studies were at the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity University of Saint Thomas. During his priestly formation and as a transitionary deacon, he was at St. Thomas Aquinas in St. Paul Park.
In January 2007, he was granted a six-month sabbatical which he spent in the Virgin Islands, assisting the parishes on Saint Thomas and Saint John Islands. Also, while in the Caribbean, he wrote a book called “On Shifting Sand” which was published in 2009 by Singing River Publications in Ely, MN. Over one thousand copies have been sold.
Additionally, he went on another second six-month sabbatical to participate in a seven-week program at St. Mary’s Redemptorist Monastery at Kinnoull, Perth, Scotland. This was followed by writing his second book, “The Turtle Priest: A Transformation from Head to Heart”, while living in Cocoa Beach, Florida. His book is an autobiography that was published in 2020. Copies of his book can be purchased at the parish office. His special ministerial interests include liturgical studies, youth ministry, lives of the saints, Maronite Catholics, Cistercian, and Jesuit spiritualities, and religious authors Fathers Thomas Merton and Henri J. M. Nouwen. He has been to Egypt and Burkina Faso in Western Africa through Catholic Relief Services; El Salvador and Guatemala with the Maryknoll Fathers and Sisters; and on a thirty Day Ignatian retreat. Fr. Shane enjoys college basketball, especially the Kansas Jayhawks, boating, travelling, gardening, writing, history, and reading.
During his new pastorate at St. George, he has focused on providing excellent liturgies and promoting our church which is a hidden gem in Hennepin County. He also continues to support the long tradition of St. George’s magnificent music program. If you are visiting St. George, please introduce yourself.
