By Anna Stuhr
Student intern
Fr. Anthony Weidner has been assigned to the St. Bonaventure parish as the temporary senior pastor for the next two months.
Fr. Anthony Weidner was ordained for the Archdiocese in 2005.
He comes to Elgin from St. Elizabeth Parish in Omaha where he has been since 2025. He has been a priest for 21 years.
During that time, Fr. Anthony has served in parishes in northeast Nebraska. From 2005 to 2008, was a priest in Norfolk.
However, most of that time has been spent at parishes in Omaha. In 2017, Fr. Anthony became the pastor at St. Michale’s Parish in South Sioux City for six years.
When asked about the pros and cons of serving in small parishes such as here, Fr. Anthony said that, “with smaller parishes, it’s easier to get to meet everyone, learn their names, what they do for a living, what their faith life is like, etc.”
Fr. Anthony also said that, with smaller parishes, it’s difficult to find volunteers for certain things, since there are fewer people to help out.
He also mentioned that fundraisers for the churches and schools, along with other buildings and activities, require lots of work and volunteers, and it can be difficult to find enough people to help out in smaller parishes.
Please welcome Fr. Anthony to our community.
