Rappl looks forward to growing with the people
By Angie Landsverk
Rev. Matt Rappl is excited to be the new priest at two area parishes.
He looks forward to growing with the people and seeing “what God has for us here.”
On Nov. 5, Rappl became the priest of Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic in Weyauwega and Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Manawa.
“I want to get to know the people of these parishes so that I can pray with them, so that I can love with them and so that we can continue on this journey of being disciples,” he said.
Prior to this, he was at St. Raphael the Archangel Catholic Church in Oshkosh and also the priest celebrant at the Catholic churches in Omro and Winneconne.
In addition, Rappl was the chaplain at Lourdes Academy in Oshkosh.
He was assigned to St. Raphael’s following his July 1, 2017 ordination.
Born and raised in Neenah, Rappl is the son of Karen and Jim Rappl and has two older brothers.
He attended Catholic elementary, middle and high schools.
As young as age 4 or 5, Rappl had thoughts about being a priest.
“The thought came back more intentionally in high school,” he said.
Rappl was at Catholic Youth Expeditions in Door County when he “had an encounter with the Lord in Eucharistic Adoration and confession, and it opened my heart to actually listening in prayer to what God was asking of me.”
That was the summer before his junior year of high school.
After the school year began, Rev. Tom Long was at the school every Wednesday morning to say Mass.
“He heard from someone else that I was thinking about being a priest,” Rappl said. “He was the vocation director for the diocese at the time.”
Seminary visit
At the end of the school year, Long invited Rappl to visit Saint John Vianney College Seminary at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.
There Rappl met seminarians and saw how they supported each other in their faith and strived to be the best they could be.
The experience made him feel more at peace with the idea.
When he returned home, his mother told him to invite Long to join them for dinner.
During conversation over dinner, Long said, “What do you say?” Rappl recalled.
“I said yes,” he said.
After graduating from high school, Rappl spent four years at the University of St. Thomas, studying Catholic studies and philosophy.
He then attended St. Francis de Sales Seminary in St. Francis, Wisconsin, graduating in 2017.
“I lived there, but took classes at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology in Hales Corners,” Rappl said.
After more than two years of serving parishes in Oshkosh, Omro and Winneconne, he is getting familiar with life in central Wisconsin.
The 28-year-old said the staff has been great during the transition.
“I’m just excited to get to know the people,” Rappl said. “A priest’s family is the people that he serves.”
He enjoys visiting with other priests and has a variety of interests.
“When it’s good weather, I like to run, play basketball, play ultimate frisbee,” Rappl said. “I like to listen to music, watch a good movie from time to time.”
He also enjoys being an uncle.