Eden native Alexander Leschisin is preparing for one of the most significant moments of his life as he nears ordination to the Catholic priesthood on May 29.
Leschisin, the son of Doug and Connie Leschisin, grew up in rural Webster and Eden and graduated from Webster Area High School. After initially studying civil engineering at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, he said he felt called to discern a vocation in the priesthood and transferred to Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, where he studied philosophy at Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary. He has since spent the past several years studying and preparing for ministry through Saint Paul Seminary.
Now, after serving the past year as a transitional deacon, Leschisin said the final weeks leading up to ordination have been filled with both practical preparations and reflection.
“A few weeks ago it was a lot of last-minute projects, finishing up coursework and planning for the big day,” he said. “Things are a little lighter academically now, but we’ve been practicing Mass, preparing invitations and planning receptions.”
Leschisin will be ordained at 11 a.m. May 29 at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Sioux Falls. The ordination will also be livestreamed on the Diocese of Sioux Falls YouTube page. He will be the only man ordained a priest for the Sioux Falls Diocese this year, though two deacons will also be ordained. His seminary class includes 11 men from the Dakotas, Iowa and Minnesota who are also being ordained this spring.
Reflecting on his year serving as a deacon, Leschisin said the experience has been especially meaningful.
“It’s been really wonderful,” he said. “I expected I would be chomping at the bit to be a priest, but I have really enjoyed being just a deacon.”
During the past year, he has served in parish settings throughout eastern South Dakota, including time in the Aberdeen area last summer. He also returned home to serve in Eden during Holy Week and Easter.
“That was extra meaningful,” he said.
As a deacon, Leschisin assisted at Mass, funerals and baptisms while taking on a more visible leadership role within parish life. One responsibility he especially grew to appreciate was preaching.
“I’ve always been a bit of an introvert, but preaching has been a great blessing for me,” he said. “I didn’t expect to love preaching.”
Leschisin said support from communities across northeast South Dakota and from the Our Lady of the Snows Pastorate has also encouraged him throughout his journey.
“I get a lot of love from northeast South Dakota,” he said. “People notice and appreciate their priests.”
He described ordination not as a graduation ceremony, but as an ancient and deeply spiritual ritual rooted in scripture and celebrated within the Mass. One of the most symbolic moments, he said, is when the man being ordained lies prostrate before the altar while the congregation prays over him.
“It’s a powerful symbol of laying down your life in imitation of Jesus,” he said.
Another key moment is the laying on of hands by the bishop, which symbolizes the continuation of apostolic succession and the authority passed down through generations of church leadership.
Following ordination, Leschisin will have the month of June before beginning his first assignment July 1 as parochial vicar at Christ the King, St. Mary and St. John Paul II parishes in the Sioux Falls and Harrisburg area.
While he has enjoyed his years in seminary, Leschisin said he is looking forward to returning home to South Dakota and beginning parish ministry as a priest.
“It’s an exciting time to be Catholic,” he said. “The Holy Spirit is at work in people’s hearts.”
Leschisin will celebrate Mass on May 31 at 10:30 a.m. in Eden, and the public is welcome to attend.
