July 2022

With your support for seminarian education through the ArchdioceseOne special appeal, you are supporting seminarians like Deacon Casey (below) as he completes his education and the formation process to becoming a priest. 

So far, over $8.1 million has been raised for the ArchdioceseOne special appeal. Of which, $3.3 million of this amount is unrestricted, and just over $2 million has been restricted for Seminary Education. Thank you for your support for seminarians like Casey. Read more about his story below: 


Deacon Casey Flack

Can you share a little bit about your background?

I grew up in the Quad Cities with my three brothers and my parents. I grew up outside, loving to swim and hike and camp which are hobbies I still love today. After graduating from Alleman High School, I went to Loras. It was there that I really learned to love and be loved by God. By joining a men’s prayer group, attending daily Mass and making a daily holy hour before the blessed sacrament I grew closer to God and a desire to follow Him. I would think about priesthood on and off for a few years until I started graduate studies at St. John’s University in Queens, NY. There I had an encounter with the Lord that moved me to say “yes!” and thus began my journey to the priesthood.

Where are you in the process of formation?

I am currently in my last year of formation for the priesthood at Mundelein Seminary and the Archdiocese of Dubuque. 

How are you spending your time this summer in between classes at Mundelein Seminary?

This summer I have been ministering at St. Joseph’s in Marion. I’ve been baptizing, preaching, and serving the poor while enjoying all that a good Iowa summer has to offer!

What will your studies focus on next year?

Next year we will have a number of practical courses such as how to say the Mass, hear confessions, and even parish administration. We’ll study Canon Law and still have some theoretical courses such as theology of the priesthood. It's an exciting year as academics shift from theory to practice.

Can you describe a memory and lesson that has been especially impactful to you at Mundelein during your formation process?

We have a great professor at Mundelein named  Fr. Larry Hennessey. We joke that he is a Church Father because he is filled with such wisdom and holiness that it literally radiates out from him. Though he is past retirement, he has such energy and joy in sharing the gospel. He has many little phrases to help us remember the dignity of what priests are about that stick with me. One such is simply saying to the Lord throughout the day, “Lord, look what you let me do.” It is necessary to stand in awe and astonishment at the way God can use our fragility and weakness for the mission of the Gospel.

The greatest gift of my formation process has been the invitation to a deeper union with Jesus and to share that with others. To become a bridge between the Father and His beloved. I stand in awe of the fact that I can help God do that, and I am humbled to be able to serve the holy people of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. Many times, when I am far from home at Mundelein, I like to take my Rosary walk around our beautiful campus and begin to pray for all of you. It is a reminder that though I am far from you physically, that I do not need to wait to serve you. As I walk with the Blessed Mother, I ask her to fill my heart with love for her Son and for you. Fr. Larry’s sense of awe reminds me of the profundity of the love that God has given to me to share, and I am grateful to be entrusted with the gift of priesthood by you and so many others.

What would you say to someone who has chosen to support seminary education through the ArchdioceseOne special appeal with a financial gift?

I would say thank you. Your financial gift is so much more than money given to a good cause. It has allowed me to dedicate the last half a decade of my life to being formed more closely to the image of Our Lord. It has opened doors for me to become the kind of priest that the people of the Archdiocese of Dubuque deserve to have and I am incredibly grateful and humbled by your support. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, without you I couldn’t be where I am today.