By Michael Gresham
The Texas Catholic
For years, Father Nicholas Weiss watched friends lie prostrate before the altar during the Litany of the Saints and thought, “I know that guy. He’s my good friend, and he’s being ordained a priest.”
On May 23 at St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church in McKinney, the Grand Prairie native found himself in that same position, lying before the altar as the faithful prayed over him.
This time, the thought was different: “And now it’s me.”
Surrounded by family, friends, fellow seminarians, and hundreds of Catholics gathered at the McKinney parish, Father Weiss was ordained to the priesthood that day for the Diocese of Dallas by Bishop Edward J. Burns. The ordination marked the culmination of a vocation that had formed slowly over years of parish life, prayer, and community.
For Father Weiss, the path to priesthood was not marked by a dramatic conversion or sudden calling but by what he described as a steady sense of peace that deepened over time.
“I never remember a single lightning bolt moment,” Father Weiss said. “It was a very gradual thing for me.”
Raised in Grand Prairie and homeschooled through high school, Father Weiss grew up immersed in parish life at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, where his parents volunteered and he served at the altar and became active in youth ministry.
“My earliest memories are being at church,” he said. “That’s where I found a sense of community.”
After receiving his first Communion, Father Weiss began serving as an altar server — an experience he said first sparked thoughts of the priesthood. Watching priests serve joyfully and faithfully planted the idea that he might one day do the same.
“They seemed pretty happy and joyful and fulfilled,” he said, recalling thinking to himself at the time: “That sounds like something I could do.”
By age 10, Father Weiss had already begun discerning a possible vocation to the priesthood. Through youth ministry, service projects, retreats, and leadership opportunities, that desire continued to grow.
Zack Weiss described his older brother’s discernment as a “sort of natural progression.”
“Everything sort of felt like the next right step for him,” Zack said. “It was just a beautiful testament to how the Lord works with you in your everyday life.”
As Father Weiss became more involved in youth ministry and leadership opportunities through parish programs and the Dallas Catholic Youth Conference, his brother said the vocation became easier to recognize.
“I think that’s when things kind of started to click for me. This is something that he loves doing, that he’s good at,” Zack said. “I could see the vocation really starting to take root.”
A major influence during those years was attending The Pines Catholic Camp in East Texas. Father Weiss first attended the camp at age 11 and returned every summer through high school. Fittingly, while Father Weiss begins his first assignment as a priest July 1 as a parochial vicar at Christ the King Catholic Parish, he will first spend a week in June serving as a priest at The Pines.
“That’s really where I fell in love with the Lord, with the Eucharist, with the Church,” he said.
The experience transformed his understanding of faith from something inherited through family life into a personal relationship with God, Father Weiss said. Prayer, Scripture, Mass, eucharistic adoration, and the sacraments became more intentional parts of his life.
“I wanted to know Jesus better,” Father Weiss said.
Music also became an important part of his faith life. Father Weiss played piano and guitar and spent years helping lead the youth choir and praise-and-worship music at his parish.
Susan Munsterman, Weiss’ grandmother, said she saw signs of his vocation early in life.
“I always saw him ready to serve others,” she said. “I saw a lot of humility in him growing up.”
Munsterman said she believed music also helped nurture her grandson’s faith and eventual vocation, noting that Father Weiss wrote his senior thesis on how music draws people closer to God.
“I think his musical talent will serve him so well in the priesthood,” she said.
As his faith deepened through parish life and summer camp experiences, Father Weiss began taking more concrete steps toward priesthood. He entered Holy Trinity Seminary after high school and later studied at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. He credited mentors including Father Joseph Trinh, his former pastor in Grand Prairie, with encouraging his vocation.
“He really encouraged me to think about priesthood,” Father Weiss said.
The newly ordained priest said seminary formation helped him mature spiritually and personally, teaching him not only theology and pastoral ministry but also how to pray through weakness and uncertainty.
“The biggest thing throughout this whole journey has really been coming from a place of seeing faith and life with God as, ‘I just have to do the right things,’” he said, “to now seeing that the Lord wants more for me: He wants me to live my entire life as his son.”
Ordained a transitional deacon in December 2025, Father Weiss spent the months leading up to priesthood serving at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Parish in Plano. Working with students at the parish school became one of the most rewarding aspects of his ministry, Father Weiss said, especially because of the role youth ministry and Catholic community had played in his own vocation.
“I want to be able to pass on some of that,” he said, “to give them a sense of the joy of the faith.”
For Munsterman, the joy of seeing her grandson’s priestly vocation fulfilled still brings overwhelming emotion.
“Every time I think about it, those happy tears come,” she said. “It’s the greatest blessing we could ever receive. He’s giving his life to God.”
Cutline for featured image: Father Nicholas Weiss, right, offers a blessing for a well-wisher during a reception in the parish hall at St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Community that followed a Mass in which Father Weiss was ordained to the priesthood on May 23. (MICHAEL GRESHAM/The Texas Catholic)
