FR. CHRIS FRASER, JCL

Judicial vicar passionate about fidelity to Church teaching

By Joyce Coronel | Aug. 5, 2009 | The Catholic Sun

An Irish nun was the first person to notice there was something special about 7-year-old Chris Fraser, a student in her second-grade class in West Palm Beach, Fla.

She told the boy’s mother that he would make a good priest some day.

Years later, the nun’s prediction came true and today, Fr. Chris Fraser is judicial vicar for the Diocese of Phoenix.  His journey to ordination and becoming a canon law expert was marked by a series of invitations as well as guidance from teachers and priests along the way.

It was during Fr. Fraser’s sophomore year at Seton Catholic High School in Chandler — the family moved to Arizona when he was in sixth grade — that another teacher spotted the signs of a future priest.

Fr. Doug Lorig taught religion at Seton and formed a group of eight students he thought probably had vocations to the priesthood. Two of the students, Fr. Chris Fraser and Fr. John Ehrich, eventually became priests in the Phoenix Diocese.

The group had various meetings and concluded the year with a hike at the Grand Canyon. Still, Fr. Fraser wasn’t quite convinced the priesthood was for him. 

“I looked at [belonging to the group] as a compliment, but I didn’t really have an interest and couldn’t really see myself doing that,” he said thinking back on his teenage years. 

It was during his studies at Arizona State University that he came to know Fr. Rob Clements, who at the time was the newly ordained parochial vicar at St. Mary Parish in Chandler. Fr. Clements thought he saw a future vocation in the young man as well.

He soon became friends with Jim Wall, who would ultimately become not just a priest for the Phoenix Diocese, but currently the youngest bishop heading a diocese in the United States.

Fr. Fraser cited the example of Bishop Wall, as well as those of Fr. Greg Menegay and Fr. Bud Pelletier, as being very influential in his life and in his decision to answer the call to the priesthood.

After earning an undergraduate degree in business from ASU, he took a job working at the university.

“My last year of working there I decided I needed to get off the fence, that the vocation thing wouldn’t go away. I was just kind of enjoying life but I realized very quickly that I needed to make a decision about the seminary thing.  That’s when I decided I needed to give God a chance,” Fr. Fraser said. 

He entered St. Meinrad Seminary in the fall of 1996 and was ordained to the priesthood in 2001.

In 2004 Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted asked him to consider attending The Catholic University in Washington, D.C., in order to train as a canon lawyer. The request surprised Fr. Fraser, then parochial vicar at St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Chandler.

“I said, ‘I have to believe that as the bishop, you are the Vicar of Christ and that your will is the will of Christ. So if you want me to do this I will,’” Fr. Fraser said of the meeting. “I had an overwhelming sense that my whole life at that moment had just radically changed, that the whole trajectory had been turned upside down.”

Two years later, he completed his studies and became a canon lawyer. Today he is judicial vicar for the Diocese of Phoenix, running the marriage tribunal and acting as the chief canonical advisor for Bishop Olmsted.

What are you passionate about as a priest?

The one thing I return to time and time again, that would define how I preach, is absolute fidelity to the Church’s teachings, those that are enunciated by the Magisterial teaching of the Church. The faith is defined and it’s trustworthy. So I think helping people to see that this is what makes us Catholic — I find that very exciting and very adventurous.

Did someone invite you to consider the priesthood?

The first time it came up was in second grade, but then in eighth grade, a religious brother was principal and he asked me if I ever considered religious life.

What can families do to encourage more ­vocations to the priesthood?

The most important thing that parents can do to instill in their children a love for God and fidelity to the Catholic faith is to lead by example. Taking your family to Mass every Sunday and holy day as if your life depends upon it (and it does) will leave a lasting impression on your children. Taking your family to confession on a Saturday afternoon, standing in line with them, will make a huge impression upon them as well. Finally, demonstrating in front of your kids, a respect and love for the priesthood is essential.