CCHS grad only priest from Diocese of Toledo ordained this year

Central Catholic High School alumnus Deacon Matthew Frisbee, 27, was ordained a Roman Catholic priest May 31.

The Rev. Matthew Frisbee is very near the beginning of the clergy timeline. He was ordained May 31 at Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral. The Most Rev. Dennis Schnurr, archbishop of Cincinnati and metropolitan for the Province of Ohio, conferred the Order of the Priesthood on Father Frisbee.

Father Frisbee, a Central High School graduate, is the only priest from the Diocese of Toledo to be ordained in 2014. Three men are on the ordination schedule for 2015, said Msgr. Charles Singler, director of vocations for the diocese.

The day after his ordination, Father Frisbee celebrated a Mass of thanksgiving at his home congregation, All Saints Catholic Church in Rossford. He will also give thanksgiving masses at Paulding County Divine Mercy Parish Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and at St. Rose Parish in Perrysburg June 15 at noon. “I had grown up in Perrysburg,” Father Frisbee said, “and then we moved out to Rossford about 10 years ago.”

For Father Frisbee's first assignment, “I'll be starting at Holy Angels Parish, Sts. Peter and Paul Parish, and St. Mary Parish in Sundusky as the associate at all three.” Msgr. Singler said that the three parishes are served by a pastor and two associates in rotation. Father Frisbee‘s official appointment by diocesan administrator the Rev. Charles Ritter is as parochial vicar.

“Where I'm going,” Father Frisbee said, “three or four years ago it would have been two priests at one of those parishes and the other two would each have their own priest, and now we're cut, so there's a lot of work to do.”

He said he doesn't want to be too eager or let the work affect his ministry. “I think that's really the big thing there, is allowing myeslf to get burned out and trying to think that I can do everything when obviously I can't.”

St. Mary is Msgr. Singler's home congregation, and his mother still lives in Sandusky. “I told him she will be my ears and my eyes, so you better do well because she'll let me know how you're doing,” he said, joking.

The monsignor was an associate pastor at St. Rose when Matt Frisbee was a third-grader and they were teacher and student in religion class. “I had a list of questions I would ask the kids,” Msgr. Singler said. He had saved them, so he presented Father Frisbee's answers as an ordination gift.