Father Chad VanHoose, pastor of St. Jude of the Lake in Mahtomedi since 2019, has been named as the chaplain for NET Ministries — a first for the national Catholic youth ministry based in West St. Paul.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda commissioned Father VanHoose as the full-time chaplain, according to an April 9 announcement. The new role takes effect July 1.

Father VanHoose started serving as a NET missionary in 2005 on the ministry’s first discipleship team in Faribault. He served as the team’s supervisor from 2006 to 2008, then the team’s administrator until 2011.

“When I left NET 13 years ago, I met with a vocation director and I said, ‘It’s going to be really hard for me to leave NET,’” Father VanHoose said in a statement. “He responded with something I will always remember. He said, ‘We put things on the altar without the knowledge that we will ever receive them back, but sometimes we do.’ To receive NET back into my priesthood has already been a tremendous blessing.”

Father VanHoose has served NET Ministries in various ways during his priesthood, including providing spiritual formation for staff and missionaries, presiding at events, and hosting retreats.

Stepping into his new role is “a dream that I never thought would happen, but the Lord is faithful, and I am appreciative of his faithfulness,” Father VanHoose said.

In his role, Father VanHoose will celebrate the sacraments with, and offer spiritual counsel to, NET Ministries staff and missionaries. He will also offer theological and pastoral guidance for missionary training and program development, according to the ministry.

At the NET Gala on April 5, Archbishop Hebda said he views the chaplain role as an important investment in the ministry.

“You are getting a priest with incredible gifts, who will be missed at the archdiocese and St. Jude, but I know that this is going to bear fruit tenfold, fiftyfold, one hundredfold, as Father Chad pours himself out in this ministry,” the archbishop said. “I am grateful to Father Chad for saying yes, but also grateful to NET Ministries for this beautiful partnership.”

David Rinaldi, president of NET Ministries, expressed gratitude to Archbishop Hebda for commissioning Father VanHoose for the role, adding that Father VanHoose has been “instrumental” in the ministry’s annual missionary training.

“Father VanHoose is a faithful and prayerful priest who is passionate about helping people come to know the love of God the Father and become disciples of Jesus Christ,” Rinaldi said in a statement. “He will bring so much to our team, and I can’t wait.”