Father Kevin Christofferson

We invite readers to send short stories about the ways in which their lives have been personally blessed by the life and work of priests and religious in our diocese.


By Karina Fabian

Every year, volunteers at Father Kevin Christofferson’s parish get a rare treat – a five course, gourmet meal prepared by Father Christofferson himself. It’s a chance to say “thank you” and a chance for Father Kevin to indulge himself in the pastime that almost became his career.

Ordained at age 32, Father Christofferson came to the priesthood later in life, like many new priests. The average age of ordination is now 37, according to the Center for Applied Research into the Apostolate, and Father Christofferson said his classes at Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon and Pontifical College Josephinum in Ohio had former lawyers, managers and Ph.D.s who had felt dissatisfaction with their secular lives and a calling to something more.

For Father Christofferson, the call to the priesthood came after exploring many alternatives. After graduating from high school in Great Falls, he briefly attended the University of Montana in Missoula before dropping out. “I felt I was wasting my time because I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” he explained.

He spent several years living in Florida and along the East Coast, where he became interested in fine cuisine and started working in various hotels, making his way as a chef. Yet even as he considered culinary school, he felt there was still something missing. “I really loved cooking, but I was unhappy and I began to realize that I’d left behind the one thing that had made me happy – my Catholic faith.”

He returned home to “regroup,” taking a job as a machine mechanic while he delved into the Catholic faith. Somewhere in the middle of his studies, he realized God was calling him to a life in the priesthood. He went to Mount Angel Seminary, where he graduated in 1992 with a degree in philosophy.

Even then, he wasn’t sure parish priesthood was what he wanted. With permission of the bishop, he took a break to explore a vocation with the Capuchin Franciscans in California, a monastic order. “It was a romantic ideal, but not where I was meant to be,” he said, adding that when he served at World Youth Day in Denver, he felt a reaffirmation of his calling that led him to return to the seminary. He graduated from Pontifical College Josephinum in 1997, and was ordained in St. Anne’s in Great Falls that June.

Since then, Father Christofferson has served at Sacred Heart in Miles City (1997-2000), Butte Catholic Community North (2000-2003), and St. John the Baptist in Frenchtown, where he is today. He’s definitely happy – and of course, he’s still cooking.

“The Sisters love to have me cook. They say they want to watch and learn, but I get abandoned and have to ring the dinner bell,” he joked. “It’s a plot, but I don’t mind at all! It makes people happy, and when you feed people (a truly good meal) it leaves a favorable impression,” he said.

Father Christofferson said he has met many men who have considered the priesthood, but are afraid. “You think you’re secure going out to a big corporation, but doing God’s work, you’re insecure. It takes us out of our comfort zone and forces us to practice our faith in a way that we’re not accustomed to – by faith and not by contracts and security and all the things that are worldly and give the impression of the security in that they’re familiar and tangible. When you get with things that are unfamiliar and intangible, they are scary, but there’s no reason to be afraid.”


Published in the Montana Catholic, Vol. 22, No. 2, February 17, 2006.