Fr. John Mark Klaus celebrates 25th ordination anniversary
Fr. John Mark Klaus, TOR, celebrates his 25th year as a priest during Mass at Good Shepherd Parish on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024 in Colleyville, TX. (NTC/Richard W. Rodriguez)
COLLEYVILLE - During his time as a lay person, Father John Mark Klaus’ enthusiasm for his Catholic faith led him to serve in as many ministries as possible in the parishes he attended through the years.
But he had always felt called to do more, and at the age of 38, made the bold and uncommon decision to leave his career as a teacher and music director to join the Franciscan Friars, Third Order Regular, in his native Pennsylvania.
“I wanted to do sacramental ministry,” Fr. Klaus said. “This seemed like the next step.”
Fr. Klaus was ordained a priest at the age of 48 — which for him fulfilled a childhood dream. He celebrated the 25th anniversary of his ordination on Nov. 24 during the 11 a.m. Mass at Good Shepherd Parish in Colleyville.
“It’s a very joyful day for me,” Fr. Klaus, 73, said at the end of his homily. “I celebrated my first Mass on this special feast of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. This feast has a lot of memories for me over the years, but especially on my ordination day.”
It was Nov. 20, 1999 in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown in Altoona, Penn.
“The vestment that you see me wearing today,” Fr. Klaus added, “was made for me for my first Mass twenty-five years ago, at a parish I had worked at for 10 years as the music director. It was called St. Therese of the Little Flower. One of the parishioners made a vestment for me, at the choir’s request.”
Fr. Klaus went on to commend the local community for their “vibrant faith,” and after his remarks, the approximately 1,000 parishioners in attendance gave him a long standing ovation.
Fr. Klaus is the son of a Pittsburgh steelworker and high school teacher whose faith journey has seen him grow from altar boy to a beloved people’s priest.
“He just makes everything light and joyful,” said David Rodriguez, who attended the anniversary Mass.
Dedicated to service
Father Zachary Burns, TOR, who like Fr. Klaus is a parochial vicar at Good Shepherd, sees in his brother priest a man dedicated to serving God’s people.
“He knows the schedule of what's going on at the parish better than anyone,” Fr. Burns said. “And he'll just get in his car after dinner, or whatever, and he'll go over to the church and pop in on this meeting; he'll show his face at this [event]; he'll stop by our softball game.
“He's always reaching out. He’s always around the people. He always just wants to be where the parishioners are and that’s kind of like his model for ministry. It’s a ministry of presence,” said Fr. Burns.
Deacon Rick Wright, who assisted at the anniversary Mass, said Fr. Klaus has great compassion for those he serves.
“While most people see Fr. John Mark in Mass, performing his priestly duties at the altar or ambo, it is in small group settings where you can truly witness the pastoral style of Fr. John Mark,” Dcn. Wright said. “He has a deep, caring interest in people and likes to visit with them, such as after presiding over Mass at one of our adult living facility [and] senior care centers.
“People have told me the empathy he possesses while meeting a grieving family over the loss of their family member, or during the anointing of the sick. People come away from those encounters with Fr. John Mark with a little more hope, a little more joy,” the deacon continued.
A musician, teacher, and priest
Parishioner Paul Cerniauskas plays the guitar in the choir at Good Shepherd.
“I’ve always appreciated Fr. John Mark’s spirituality,” he said after the anniversary Mass. “I appreciate how he’s able to lay out in a very structured way the homilies, and he loops it all together. It’s wonderful, and I do appreciate his love of music. It adds to the worship.”
Fr. Klaus — who is a fan of both traditional and contemporary hymns — earned degrees in music education and music history for his first career.
“I’ve had a love for music ever since I was a little boy,” he said.
Fr. Klaus became a teacher in 1974, moved into a full-time music director position in 1979, and joined the Franciscans in 1989.
“After 10 years of being a music director, I thought, ‘You know, I still feel called to religious life,’” Fr. Klaus said. “So then I thought I'd better look at some different communities to find out where God was calling me, and the Franciscan TORs were the seventh community I visited. They were teachers.”
The order serves St. Francis University, where Fr. Klaus was a campus ministry director and taught music, and Franciscan University of Steubenville. He would go on to earn master’s degrees in liturgy and divinity.
His order first assigned him to a Diocese of Fort Worth parish, St. Andrew, in 1999 before being assigned to a parish in Sarasota, Fla.
He returned to Texas in 2015 and served four more years at St. Andrew before being assigned to Good Shepherd in 2019 — another parish in the diocese that is served by Franciscans.
“We have a large congregation,” Fr. Klaus said of the parish’s more than 3,000 families. “It's wonderful to be able to preach to that many people because as Catholics we are to be evangelists and preach — preach our faith to other people and help them that way.”
The parish also has a strong focus on the sacrament of reconciliation.
“We have confession three times a week and just to be able to forgive sins, or give people spiritual advice on how to grow closer to God, is a great joy,” Fr. Klaus said. “Conversion and penance is our [order’s] charism.”
Called to guide
Parishioner David Rodriguez is discerning the priesthood, and Fr. Klaus has been his spiritual director the past three years.
The men have some common ties. Rodriguez, at 40, would be leaving an established career if he enters seminary. Music is a part of his life, too, as his parents are leaders in the music ministry program at neighboring St. Francis of Assisi in Grapevine.
“Fr. Klaus introduced me to his order and ever since then I’ve been growing in my faith and just trying to do better,” Rodriguez said. “He’s given me a better understanding of walking with the Holy Spirit, accepting things about life that I can’t change, and looking toward the Holy Spirit to guide and help me on my journey.”
Fr. Klaus has a special gift for working with those discerning priesthood, said Fr. Burns.
In other areas, Fr. Klaus has been a chaplain for the Knights of Columbus for more than 20 years, has served on the board of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, on the board of trustees of Franciscan University, and is the spiritual adviser for the Secular Franciscans.
Through it all, he’s never lost the enthusiasm of his days as a lay person.
“He never complains – and he just lives a very humble Franciscan spirituality,” said Fr. Burns.