By Father Dan Tracy
I first encountered the life of Sister Annella Zervas, O.S.B. in the Spring of 2016 while serving as a missionary with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. While serving the student population there at St. John’s, I became aware through the testimony of several students at both St. John’s and the College of St. Benedict that Sister Annella’s grave was a consistent site of pilgrimage among students and local Catholics.
Later that Spring I was invited to pray with a group of students at the Grotto and at Sister Annella’s grave one Sunday morning. It was there that I met Patrick Norton and his wife Sandy. The Nortons could not have been more gracious and kinder to me. Patrick was very quick to ask me about whether I had ever considered discerning the priesthood. Having received my undergraduate degree in journalism, I became very interested in researching Sister Annella’s life story and read several documents and articles about her including Fr. Joseph Kreuter O.S.B.’s “An Apostle of Suffering in Our Day.” I encouraged Patrick to continuing praying for open doors that through his encounter with Sister Annella, he might have opportunities to share the holy witness of her life with the local and universal Church.
I returned to St. John’s University in the Fall of 2016 to serve as a missionary for a second year and committed myself to praying each Sunday at the Grotto and her grave for the ongoing conversion of souls at both campuses through. Personally, those Sunday mornings of prayer were consistently peaceful and were regular opportunities to encounter other Catholics who were living lives of committed discipleship within the Church. I do believe that the witness of Sister Annella’s life, and perhaps her intercession as well, made a direct impact on the lives of many students while the FOCUS apostolate served in the area from 2015 to 2021.
In my final months on campus, I began the process of pursuing a vocation to the priesthood and following my time at St. John’s, I began seminary formation studying for the Diocese of Superior, Wisconsin at St. Francis de Sales Seminary near Milwaukee. I continued my formation for six years at St. Francis de Sales and was ordained as a priest of Jesus Christ on May 28th, 2023. I will absolutely attest that my two years serving as a FOCUS missionary was a critical part of my formation and discernment. The opportunity to learn more about someone like Sister Annella who said Yes to Jesus even amid great suffering inspired me to consider how I must confront my own suffering and accompany others in theirs.
My interest in the lives of the Saints has continued into priesthood though I have shifted my efforts to the cause for another American Catholic, Blessed Solanus Casey who received First Communion at the parish I currently serve, Saint Patrick Parish in Hudson, Wisconsin. I am grateful for the initiative of Bishop Cozzens and the Sister Annella Guild for continuing to investigate and prayerfully discern the next best steps in sharing the story of this Christian witness. May God bless this effort.
