Fr. Michael Panka

I was born in 1989 to Paul and Candice Panka. I am the oldest of seven children. For the first seven years of my life, my father served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. During that time, my family moved around a bit, spending time in Enid, Oklahoma (where I was born) and Grand Forks, North Dakota. After my father finished his military commitment, my family moved to Lakeville, Minnesota, where my mother had grown up and where all of her family still lived. When I was thirteen, my parents decided to build a new house on a small acreage lot near New Prague, Minnesota. They still live there today.

I was homeschooled from kindergarten through 12th grade. After finishing high school, I attended the University of Saint Thomas in Saint Paul where I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Latin and Classical Languages. After finishing my undergraduate studies, I decided to re-enroll at the University of Saint Thomas as a graduate student. After two more years of study, I received a Master of Arts degree in Catholic Studies. My plan at this point in my life was to become a teacher. After a year of other work, I did eventually obtained a teaching position at Holy Family Academy—the Catholic parochial school in Saint Louis Park—where I taught History and Latin in the Middle School. I taught there for four years before deciding to enter seminary.

I am very close to my family and relatives and have learned a lot from them. The most important thing I learned from my parents and my extended family is the importance of our Catholic Faith. I am blessed to have come from a very devout family. From a young age, I was taught the importance of daily prayer and frequent reception of the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Most Holy Eucharist. I believe that it was this early training in the Faith that eventually led me to consider the possibility that God might be calling me to the priesthood. At first, I was not sure that I wanted to become a priest, but God was very patient with me and gradually revealed to me that the life of a diocesan priest was the life that He desired for me. Praised be to God who has blessed me with this beautiful vocation!

I very happy to be one of the priests here at St. Stephen’s. God bless!