Fr. Doug LeCaptain 

If Doug always seems to be on the go, perhaps it is not only because he has a lot to do, but because it seems to be a part of his nature to accomplish things quickly.  When he made the decision to pursue a calling to the priesthood, he talked to a vocation director in May, made his decision in June, was assigned to studies at St. Meinrad in Indiana in July and arrived there in August. 

 

Doug was born and bred in Tisch Mills where attended St. Mary Parish, and he thought that his life was going to play out like the “American Dream” with the things that really seemed to matter-- “a good job, a house and a marriage with 2.3 kids.”  So, after graduating UW-LaCrosse with a degree in Computer Science, Doug headed to Rochester, Minnesota.  There, the American dream started to take shape.  He acquired a job in computers with IBM, a house and a girlfriend.  He was also firm in his faith and did some Religious Education teaching and became involved with some of the local youth.  “All that time, I was growing in my faith and in my understanding of God, and in time, I decided that I was being called to something else.”  Following a great deal of prayer and discernment, Doug felt it was time to check out that other calling.  That meant he had to let go of the girlfriend, the house and the job and take a step into the unknown.

 

When he was thinking about his own vocation, there were still several options to be looked into, namely various Dioceses and Religious communities.  “I looked at some Religious Orders.  They were good, but I didn’t think they were for me.  Someone once told me, ‘You can make your own community’ and I wanted to try that.”  He eventually came home to the Green Bay Diocese where he remembers Fr. Jim Dillenburg telling him about the life of a priest.  “He said, ‘The pay isn’t great, but the retirement benefits are out of this world.’”   That was back in 1988, and after completing a course of studies he was ordained a priest in 1993 with classmate Fr. Mike Seis.

 

It was in his seminary time that Doug had his first exposure to the Knights of Columbus since the Diocese at the time participated in the Knights of Columbus insurance program.  He made the First Degree around 1990 and soon afterward the Diocese switched to another insurance plan.  But, that was not the end of Doug’s connection with the Knights, as the Denmark Council assisted him financially while he was in seminary.  He deeply appreciated the support given by the Knights, and took the opportunity to speak at Denmark.  After ordination, he was assigned to Resurrection Parish in Green Bay and then made the “mile and a half move north” to St. Bernard following Fr. Mike Seis’ departure.  Doug was just settling in at St. Bernard when Bishop Banks asked him to take on an additional responsibility as Director of Vocations for the Diocese.

 

Doug enjoys his work in the Vocations Office; in addition to looking for candidates for the Diocese he also keeps in touch with current seminarians and is acutely aware of the financial needs they often experience.  He appreciates the efforts that many Councils such as ours make to assist our priests in training.  Among the passions of Doug’s life at the moment are a love of ice cream and of cycling.  On the vocatioins front, he’s always looking for men interested in the priesthood and promises a free lunch to anyone who might want to talk about a vocation “and a free dinner to anyone who signs on the dotted line.”

 

May 1997
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