Staff
Fr. Peter Williams 651-436-7817 #1
A little about myself by way of an introduction. First, I am a beloved son of the Eternal Father. This is my deepest identity, which anchors and allows my spiritual fatherhood to be fruitful. Second, I am the son of Gary and Mary Williams. My dad is a retired physician, and my mom committed to staying at home to raise my siblings and I in Stillwater, where they continue to reside (so you may see them here from time to time). I am grateful for the foundation of faith they gave us, their example of virtue, and how intentional they were about their married love. Third, I am the fourth child of nine. There were many blessings to a large family, which I continue to experience with 30 nieces and nephews. I am proud of all of my siblings and their spouses. Forth, I have been a priest for 21 years and I genuinely love being a priest. Once I received and experienced the deep peace and joy of God calling me to the priesthood, I really haven’t hesitated about it or looked back. This is not to say that it has always been easy or gone as I expected, but it has been an adventure filled with continual growth. In addition to serving as Pastor of Saint Ambrose now for 7 years, I was Pastor of Maternity of Mary in St. Paul for 8 years. I have also had a variety of assignments in serving priests and seminarians. Finally, I have been blessed with many wonderful mentors and friends who have and continue to help me become the man God intends. For the past 15 years I have belonged to the Companions of Christ – a fraternity of diocesan priests in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis who are committed to living priesthood within intentional community. The 35 or so priest-brothers have elected me to serve as Moderator for the past 5 years. We strive to evangelize in a way that is attractive and that leads people to a personal, daily relationship with Jesus.
I look forward to getting to know you, although it might take time. Given the balancing act of two different parishes, it is likely that I will have the weekend Masses once per month and almost every Thursday morning. It is my hope that you will find the rotation with my wonderful priest-associates (and occasionally a visiting priest as the need arises) not a lack but something that enriches your personal faith and builds up of this community.
Please pray for me and know of my prayers for you.
Fr. Sam Gilbertson 651-436-7817 #1
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” Col 3:17
This line above from St. Paul expresses part of what is in my heart recently—gratitude and thanksgiving. I feel very blessed to be a part of the team (along with Fr. Peter and Fr. Sean) in ministering at Saint Francis. I have already experienced much of your warmth, welcome, generosity, and love. It has given me plenty of opportunity to give thanks to God! In thanksgiving, I wanted to take this time to more thoroughly introduce myself and where I come from, how the Lord has worked in my life, and where we can journey together in the Lord.
I grew up in Faribault, MN and my family and I were parishioners at Divine Mercy Catholic Church. My family moved when I was in college and now live in Hanover, MN. I have two brothers and three sisters. I am the second oldest. Us four older kids are settled into our vocations with my siblings being married and starting to have children, so I have been enjoying my nieces and nephews (currently 4 of them!). The two youngest in my family are both adopted, Michael (16) and Elizabeth (17), and keep our family nice and young and keep mom and dad moving and out of trouble (or get them into it!). We grew up in the country with some land and I enjoy hunting, ATV riding, snowmobiling, hiking, and all things of that nature. I am also a movie guy; action movies are my favorite. I also love to read.
I was involved in my faith growing up but took a little bit of time to listen to God’s invitation to be a priest. It was there from an early age but I was afraid to respond. I went to Franciscan University of Steubenville for my undergraduate and studied finance and economics. I worked in the insurance industry at Prudential before I heard the Lord again inviting me to consider the priesthood. It took a little time and a lot of intercession from Mary, our Blessed Mother, but I was finally at a place where I was open to listen. Since saying yes to the Lord in this way, I have experienced so much joy and peace and rejoice that the Lord is so gentle, patient, and faithful!
Once I entered the seminary, I did my first two years of pre-theology (philosophy studies) at the Saint Paul Seminary and then Archbishop Hebda asked me and one of my classmates to do our theology studies in Rome at the North American College. I spent four years in Rome as a seminarian and was ordained a priest in May (2022) here at the Cathedral in Saint Paul. I still wonder how a small-town country boy like me ever got sent to Rome! God does have a sense of humor and knew just how to get me way out of my comfort zone in order to show me how he would always take care of me.
There is a joyful expectation and hope for what the Lord is already doing here at Saint Francis. The Lord is always on the move to take us from good to better! I feel blessed to get caught up in the mission and to let the Lord unfold my role in serving here. It will take me some time to settle fully into the routine and rhythm, but I am here for you and your needs. Please feel free to ask me for whatever you may need and know of my support and commitment to pursuing the Lord together. I hope to be a pliable instrument in the Lord’s hands to accomplish his will. I thank you in advance for helping me to grow and for supporting me. You can count on my prayers and please pray for me!
I look forward to continuing to meet you all and hope you have a blessed week!
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Sam Gilbertson
Fr. Sean Mulcare 651-436-7817 #1
Hello, my name is Fr. Sean Mulcare and I am excited to join you all at St. Francis! It is truly an honor to be able to walk with all of you as we continue our journey towards the Lord together. I have already felt very welcomed by so many of you at St. Francis and I am excited to be here at this wonderful parish.
I wanted to give you a brief overview of my story as a way of introducing myself. I am an only child and I grew up in Forest Lake MN. I was born and raised as a Catholic by my wonderful parents Tim and Cheryl who have been a great blessing to me. Growing up, I was very blessed by their faithfulness to God by going to Mass every week. My relationship with God began to grow especially after I attended Extreme Faith Camp when I was in the 6th grade and it was during this time that I first sensed a potential call to the Priesthood. As my middle school and high school years came, I continued to go to Extreme Faith Camp and I became more connected to my youth group and my relationship with God and openness to the Priesthood continued to grow. I volunteered with a number of different groups and I knew that I wanted to spend my life serving people one way or another. After I graduated high school, I did a year of NET Ministries and I feel in love with serving people spiritually. Helping souls come closer to God filled me with joy, purpose, and excitement and I came to see helping people come closer to God as one of the greatest things that I could ever do with my life. Shortly after my year with NET Ministries, I entered seminary in 2015. Seminary was a great gift and showed me the deep importance of prayer and a living relationship with God. I have been a Priest for 1 year now and have been at the wonderful community of Saint Ambrose. I have learned a lot and it’s a great gift to be there. I am now looking forward to walking with the people of St. Francis towards the Lord as well. Know that I am looking forward to getting to know you and if you ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
P.S. When I’m not at the parish, you may find me hiking, biking, skiing, reading, watching movies, or playing a board game.
Deacon Christopher Vance
651-436-7817
Greetings to you, my dear sisters and brothers of St. Francis!
Archbishop Hebda has assigned me to serve the good people of this parish community.
On December 9, 2023, I was ordained along with seventeen other men to the Permanent Diaconate. We tied the biggest class on record in our local church. Our Archdiocese is experiencing a noticeable movement of men stepping forward to serve Christ and His local church in this vocation.
If any of you guys out there want to learn more about the diaconate – let’s talk!
Here’s a little bit about me:
I was born the youngest of five children in a small town about an hour north of Los Angeles.
Between first and second grade, our father, Paul, moved us to a small town near Fort Worth, Texas (you may detect a southern accent).
A carpenter by trade, my father worked in construction his whole life before passing away in 2016.
My siblings (one sister and three brothers) still live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I have no childhood memories of my mother, Mary. She departed our family when I was a baby. In my adult life we reunited and worked on our relationship before she passed in 2022.
Raised by a single parent, my father worked hard to provide for our spiritual and temporal needs, but I spent most of my teenage years away from the church.
Shortly after high school, with an exhausted heart, I began my return to the Lord and His Church. Experiencing a deep encounter with Christ, I joined NET Ministries for one year, based here in Saint Paul. I never went back to Texas.
After NET, I remained in Saint Paul and spent some time checking out the Companions of Christ, a priestly fraternity within the Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis. After five years of discerning with the Companions, I began courting my wife Leila and married in 1992.
We are blessed with six children. The oldest is our daughter, Tessa. Followed by our two sons, Christopher and Fr. Nicholas (recently ordained for our Archdiocese on May 25, 2024). Then we have three daughters Elisa, Natalie, and AnnMarie. Elisa and Tom have blessed us with two grandchildren, Thomas Augustine and Leila Beatrice.
Like my dad, I worked as a carpenter for 28 years. During the housing market crash in 2009, I switched over to technology. My first 7 years in technology were in a corporate setting. In 2016, I was hired to run the technology for Saint Agnes Church and School. I am still there today. In fact, my wife Leila is a second-grade teacher at Saint Agnes School. It is a gift to see her every day at work.
I am so happy to be assigned to serve as your new deacon!
Thank you for welcoming me into your heart and your parish community!
Your brother in Christ,
+Deacon Vance
Cindy Buckland, Parish Life Director
651-436-7817 #2
cindyb@stfrancislscbmn.org
Hello, I am Cindy Buckland. I’ve been the Director of Faith Formation here at St. Francis of Assisi since 2014 and worked as Faith Formation coordinator since 2008. I’ve been a member of the parish for over 20 years and been involved in faith formation since my kids where in preschool. My first love is the Sunday Children’s Liturgy of the Word and still is today. I answered the call to teach preschool back in 1999 and now look at me today! God has provided me with the opportunity to serve the children of our parish on a full-time basis when I retired from my career as a Dental Assistant, (when one door closes, another opens). I also have retired from my job at County Market as a Customer Service Manager and in my spare time now I can be seen out with the dog on St Croix Trail or up north in Staples, MN with my 3 grandsons. Jackson, Caleb & Hudson and soon twin grand daugthers.
Jim Gajewski, Business Administrator
651-436-7817 #3
jimg@stfrancislscbmn.org
651-436-7817
lynnd@stfrancislscbmn.org
Lynn grew up as Lynn Lutterman on a farm in Dodge Center, MN, a small town close to Kasson Mantorville, MN. As the youngest of 8 children, she grew up in a large family experience with everyone singing, playing piano and band instruments. Another factor of being number 8 in the family order was that her nieces were closer in age to her than her siblings. So, from an early age she began playing, "Choir Director," with her young nieces and thus, the story began. She attended high school at Rochester Lourdes where she participated in every music ensemble possible in both choir and band. She went on to college and graduated with a Bachelor of Music Education Degree in both Choral and Instrumental Certification. From there she worked with several twin cities performing groups as performer, arranger, and director of productions. She also helped open the Mall of America Entertainment Park, Knotts Camp Snoopy Musical Productions, where she worked in all of the performing shows and theatrical productions. At the same time, she was the pianist/vocalist at St. Gregory’s Catholic Church with renown singer/songwriter/folk artist Peter Mayer, who now resides in Stillwater, MN, and tours nationally. In 1992, she accepted a position at Hastings High School where she was Director of Choirs. There, she directed three choirs, founded a vocal jazz ensemble, wrote arrangements for the swing choir, directed musicals and special productions, and worked with instrumental ensembles as well. After her son was born, she wanted to have more flexibility and be at home more, so she shifted back into church music. She was the choir director at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Hastings from 2000-2007. She has been at Memorial Lutheran Church in Afton for the last 12 years as music minister/choir/principal accompanist. She is married to John Dewall of Stillwater and lives close by in Lakeland. John is a veteran teacher in Hastings and has taught horticulture, plant science, greenhouse and coached three sports for 43 years. They have a son Lars, whom they adore, who is a senior at St. Scholastica. Lars is a three-sport elite athlete (Cross Country Running, XC Skiing and Track) and it is their pride and joy to attend his races and national competitions year-round. Lars didn’t fall to far from the tree, as he is a secondary education major with an emphasis on sports and exercise physiology. Lynn enjoys long walks, cross country skiing, biking, reading and the beautiful outdoors. She appreciates all God’s creatures as she watches birds, deer, raccoons and all the creatures that adorn the St. Croix Valley. Lynn is thrilled to be at St. Francis and describes it as a homecoming. She is passionate about music and making the music come to life and hopes to touch the people of St. Francis with the gift of music.
Steve Allen, Building & Grounds
651-436-7817 #5
