Precious Blood profile: Father Vince Wirtner, C.PP.S.
Like much of the campus, the chapel at Melbourne Central Catholic High School in Melbourne, Florida, is open and welcoming. The decor is contemporary and fresh, like the students themselves. They wander in during free periods, dropping into comfortable seats set off in a sunny nook. Perhaps they’re there to unshoulder their backpacks and relax for a few minutes, or perhaps it’s to unshoulder their burdens with their chaplain, Father Vince Wirtner, C.PP.S.
Fr. Vince has been called to serving others in multiple roles in his life. He worked in the health care field for 13 years, becoming a licensed practical nurse. He worked at a camp for children with cancer, was a youth minister at a parish, served as a college chaplain, and spent some time as a parochial vicar at a parish in Ohio. When he was ordained as a Missionary of the Precious Blood priest in 2010, he first served as vocation director. This fall, he’s entering his sixth school year at Melbourne Central Catholic.
“It’s a perfect fit for me,” he says. “I just love it. I love working with teenagers; I love working with young adults. It’s a part of the Church that can be underserved by the clergy because they can’t focus on one particular group at a parish.”
The young people are always welcome, and they in turn welcome the guidance Fr. Vince provides. There’s an easy camaraderie in their conversation because Fr. Vince is a self-described “regular guy wearing a priest outfit.” The chance to minister in this way, outside of a parish, is what drew Fr. Vince to Missionaries of the Precious Blood. He got to know several Missionaries of the Precious Blood when he worked in a hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana. “I found they were just regular guys doing amazing, amazing work at the hospital, taking care of the patients and the families and all the visitors that came in,” he says.
“There was something about them that I could never really put my finger on until I started living the life. I’ve experienced diocesan priests, Franciscans, and other religious communities. There are some guys that are relatable there, too. But there’s something about this community that I appreciate. When I met Father Bill Nordenbrock, I said, ‘I want to be like Bill’ — he’s such a relatable guy — a nice, regular kind of guy.”
The spiritual focus on redemption through the blood of Christ spoke to him as well, particularly with his background in health care, as he witnessed the nourishment of blood, the healing force of blood, and the way it can be spilled in violence.
“The priesthood side of me loves celebrating Mass and being part of the sacramental life of the school, and the minister side of me loves sitting and talking to the students,” he says. “I can offer pastoral counseling for the students. That’s probably my favorite thing to do — hearing what’s going on with their life and what they’re doing. You know what’s happening at home or with their family or work, whatever it is. Sometimes it’s a crisis. Sometimes they just need someone to talk to for a little bit.”
Sometimes they also need some guidance when they’re heading in the wrong direction, and Fr. Vince excels at providing it in a way that keeps them open and listening. “They hear it differently when they have somebody that cares about them to say those kind of things, other than parents, who are saying it, too. They hear it from other places, and all of a sudden, they realize they should pay attention to it.
“We say it with love,” he says.