ELLSWORTH — St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church welcomed Father Sam McCarty as its new priest as of July 1.

McCarty grew up in Wausau before going to seminary out of high school, spending four years at the University of St. Thomas, heading to Mundelein Seminary in Chicago and eventually being ordained in 2020. Since then, McCarty has spent two years in Tomah and three in La Crosse before the bishop asked him to come to St. Francis. He first felt the call around second grade, and as he grew, so did his understanding of that calling.

“I became a priest because it seemed like that was what the Lord was asking me to do,” McCarty said. “It was a gentle call, but it was persistent, and it was over many years… Once I could really understand what God’s voice sounded like, I could hear that he was inviting me to do this.”

Having the church as well as the school, McCarty views a great opportunity to preach the word of God to the younger generation.

“How we engage and educate the next generation is super important, and we want to be a church that’s young and growing,” McCarty said. “The school can really add a lot to that.”

He has spent recent years doing ministry for college students, so this will come as a big change. He hopes the people of the church feel welcomed but are also prepared to go out and share the word with others.

“There’s a great opportunity for St. Francis to be on mission,” McCarty said. “How can we announce the Gospel in a world that really has a need of that… Everyone is welcome. We want a full church here. We want to be a place where people can come and worship the Lord.”

McCarty is coming to St. Francis with open ears, hoping to follow the guidance of God.

“Do what the Holy Spirit wants,” McCarty said. “I’m not coming in with a program or something that I think needs to happen.”

His favorite teaching of the Bible comes from II Corinthians, teaching about human weakness, and how God is there to fill the gaps.

“St. Paul is asking the Lord to take some weakness from him, but the Lord says, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness,’” McCarty said. “All of us have weaknesses… It’s a good reminder that the Lord works through that and created us with these limitations so that he could supplement with his grace.”

Thus far, McCarty has had a lot of great experiences meeting the people of the community, and he welcomes everyone to the church to feel that same love.

“There are a lot of good things already happening here at St. Francis, we just want to build on that,” McCarty said. “Now, let’s kind of pour gas on the fire, so to speak.

“There’s a lot of good folks here at St. Francis and Ellsworth, and it’s been good just kind of saying hello,” McCarty said. “I’ve felt very welcomed here.”