Greetings and best wishes to the parishioners of St. Hubert’s parish in Chanhassen!  My name is Fr. Doug Ebert, a retired priest who will be serving as your Parochial Administrator during Fr. Rolf Tollefson’s sabbatical leave until the latter part of August.

I will now tell you a bit about of my story as a second career priest. 

I was the youngest of four boys, born at the leading edge of the “baby boom” in 1946. I grew up in St. Paul’s Midway district and attended St. Mark’s Church and parochial school.  At that time, St. Thomas Military Academy (now St. Thomas Academy in Mendota) was only three blocks away, so, like my older brothers, I attended high school there.  After graduating in 1964, I attended Regis College (now Regis University), a Jesuit institution in Denver, Colorado, where I received my BA degree in 1968.

Shortly thereafter, in response to a draft notice, I joined the Air Force and became a pilot flying C-141 transport aircraft and served in Viet Nam. In 1973, I entered the reserves flying C-5A aircraft and was hired by American Airlines. I spent most of my career in Chicago and retired as an international captain in 2003.

In 1970, I became involved in the railroad industry as a designer, renovator, and operator of railroad passenger cars in long-haul charter service on scheduled passenger trains.  I learned many of the intricacies of that business while employed as a dining car cook for the Great Northern Railway during my college years.

Another passion is contemporary (pre-rap) music.  I am a song writer, electric guitar player, and have professional experience as a musician.

Since my early youth, the call to priesthood kept gnawing at me.  After a few “near-misses” in high school and college, in my late forties I decided to accept any future early retirement opportunity and to seriously pursue this call.  In 2003, it happened.  This early retirement gave me some blessed time as the primary caregiver for my mother until God took her home. I then began my studies for the priesthood as a day student in 2004 and officially entered the St. Paul Seminary in 2005.  On May 30, 2009, I was ordained a Catholic priest at the Cathedral of St. Paul at the age of 62.

My first assignment was to All Saints in Lakeville as their associate pastor.  In 2011, I became the pastor of Guardian Angels parish in nearby Chaska.  In 2014, I was named pastor of St. John Neumann parish in Eagan.  When I learned that Archbishop Hebda intended to assign another priest to succeed me when my term expired, with mixed emotions, I retired on July 1, 2020. 

After learning that I would be leaving St. John Neumann, the COVID crisis began.  My last months as pastor transitioning into retirement occurred in a new and unsettled paradigm for our culture and our Church.

I became available to assist at local parishes, but the needs were minimal due to schedule reductions and pastoral care restrictions.  Last March I was called out of retirement to serve as Parochial Administrator of Saints Joachim and Anne in Shakopee.  It was good to be active again, but the amplified cultural and ecclesial divisions of these times were a bit more than I had bargained for.  In mid-July, I stepped down as Parochial Administrator but continued sacramental ministry in Shakopee until this year as COVID restrictions were being relaxed. 

In August of last year, I began assisting at St. John the Baptist parish in New Brighton as a senior associate. Recently, I was appointed to act in Fr. Tollefson’s role during his well-earned Sabbatical leave.

I look forward to serving St. Hubert’s parish and its Catholic School as I continue my post-retirement career in the transportation “business” on this most important journey of all – our shared pilgrimage to God’s Kingdom, the destiny of faith.

Christ’s Peace,

Fr. Doug