Fr. Dennis Strach II ordained April 2 at Notre Dame

Notre Dame, Ind. — The Congregation of Holy Cross has added a Metro Detroiter to its priestly ranks.

Fr. Dennis Strach II, CSC, a Rochester Hills native and parishioner of St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Lake Orion, was ordained April 2 by Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades for the congregation at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.

“The whole thing is pretty surreal, but I’m excited,” said Fr. Strach, who was one of two priests ordained for the congregation. “While I’ve been preparing for this moment for the past six years in a very intentional way, I’ve really been preparing for it in small ways throughout my entire life.”

Fr. Strach, who was serving his diaconate internship at St. Ignatius Martyr Church in Austin, Texas, professed perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience Aug. 29, 2015, committing himself to a common life in apostolic work of the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Fr. Strach celebrated the 10 a.m. Mass on April 3 at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and will celebrate Mass at his home parish in Lake Orion at 4:30 p.m. June 11.

“I’m most excited to preside at the Eucharist,” said Fr. Strach, the only son of Dennis and Carla Strach of Rochester Hills. “It will be such an incredible experience to offer up to God the gifts, prayers, and concerns of my brothers and sisters, and to act in the person of Christ, meditating God’s love and mercy to those I encounter through this Sacrament.”

Fr. Strach attended Holy Family Regional School in Rochester Hills and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep before earning a bachelor’s degree in music with a minor in Spanish from Oakland University in 2010. He entered formation with Holy Cross as a postulant in 2010, making his first profession of vows on July 28, 2012.

According to his mother, Carla Strach, her son’s road to the priesthood began at a young age.

“When he was little, 4 or 5 years old, he said he wanted to become a priest, and that’s always been true,” Carla Strach said. “He went to Catholic school, so we thought ‘OK, he’s just a kid.’ But when he was in high school he was still serious about it.”

In 2015, Fr. Strach earned his master’s in divinity from Notre Dame. While completing his education, he served in various ministries in Notre Dame, Ind.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Austin, Texas and teaching work in Peru, Mexico, and Marian High School in Mishawaka, Ind.

At Notre Dame, Fr. Strach served in marriage preparation at the university’s Office of Campus Ministry and led students to Le Mans, France, during a fall break to the tomb of the founder of Holy Cross, Blessed Basil Moreau.

“There have been so many people along the way — my parents, friends, teachers at my Catholic grade school and high school, professors in college, parishioners back at home — who have inspired me and challenged me to God’s will and to use my gift to serve others,” Fr. Strach said.

“I’m happy to have found a vocation that makes use all of my talents, that provides me with a deep sense of joy and fulfillment, and a vocation that continually calls me to be better than I am — that is, to live as God has created me.”