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Deacon Russell Bergman walks through the gardens of Mater Christi Parish in Albany. It’s been a while since Bergman has been in his old church’s stomping grounds, but he still knows his way around the gardens’ twists and turns.

Soon enough, Bergman, 51, will be leading his own parishioners through life’s twists and turns after his ordination to the priesthood. Bergman, along with Deacon James O’Rourke, will be ordained on Saturday, June 18, at 11 a.m., at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany by Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger.

“It’s exciting and a little scary,” Bergman told The Evangelist about his ordination. But after years of discerning, studying in seminary and serving as a deacon, Bergman knows he’s ready for this next step. 

A native of the Albany Diocese, Bergman grew up in Burnt Hills with his parents and older brother, Chris, attending Our Lady of Grace Parish in Ballston Lake. The deacon recalled growing up religious — his family regularly attended Mass and said grace before meals — but he never felt overwhelmed by his faith.

“We weren’t overtly Catholic,” Bergman said. “With my parents, Catholicism was just part of the way they lived. It wasn’t like, ‘Look at me, I’m Catholic.’ ”

As a teen, the priesthood wasn’t much on Bergman’s mind. He attended Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School but was focused on Boy Scouts, where he obtained his Eagle Scout title. It wasn’t until he was preparing for confirmation that the idea started to emerge. 

“I thought about it a few times, thinking that would be interesting, but I first seriously thought about it when I was going through confirmation classes,” he said. Father Joseph G. Busch, who is pastor to a whopping 12 parishes in the Albany Diocese, taught Bergman’s confirmation courses and had a large impact on him.

He said Father Busch was “a great teacher” who “challenged you and helped me understand what it means to be an adult Catholic.” Father Busch helped him see his commitment to faith as more than just a ritual, but a way of living life. 

“He’s really engaging and didn’t talk down to us, but he talked directly and said this is our faith, and really made it apparent this is something you have to choose,” Bergman said. Catholicism “is a way of life, it’s something you embrace. You don’t go to confirmation to graduate and then you’re done. It’s not like that, you’re committing to this way of life.”

Bergman was so impressed by his priest’s approach to the faith, he started to wonder if he could do that, too. He put the idea on the back burner, thinking maybe it could be something to consider ­later. 

Bergman went on to attend SUNY Oswego for three semesters where he studied German and Russian. At Oswego, Bergman joined the college’s Newman Center, a university-sponsored organization for Catholic students, and became a Eucharistic minister on campus. He later transferred to Schenectady County Community College and then SUNY Albany where he obtained his bachelor’s in philosophy and a minor in German. 

Bergman said changing his major was partially influenced by the priesthood: “I  thought if I go out for the priesthood someday, which I was thinking about, I would need a philosophy background,” he said. 

Commuting from home to SUNY Albany made it hard to connect to the campus community, Bergman noted, so he started working at St. Clare’s Hospital as an aide in the emergency room. His mother worked as a nurse at the hospital for years and said they were always looking for help.

“It was a great job,” he said. “I helped out when people had to come in for stitches … (helped) people to their X-rays, took vital signs, pretty much anything and everything.” 

Bergman’s priesthood journey took a detour after college: he bought a house, got married, started working in insurance, and lived in Albany for a number of years. In 2015, Bergman and his wife decided to divorce. After their split, Bergman started thinking about the priesthood more: “It was like God said, ‘You know, you can still do this,’ ” he laughed. 

In 2018, Bergman was accepted to Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Mass. His time studying for the priesthood was “a good experience,” he said, noting that “everybody worked with you … and everybody there wants to help (students) discern,” he said.

Bergman added that getting to serve as a deacon at Ave Maria Parish in Lynnfield, Mass., this past year helped solidify his confidence in joining the priesthood. 

“That was absolutely wonderful,” he said. “The priest there (Father Paul Ritt) was excellent and very encouraging, and it was a joy to work there and all the people were wonderful.” 

Bergman recalled doing a lot of baptisms and helping with the blessing of the animals, where he blessed a 65-year-old turtle!
“All these pastoral and liturgical experiences, they were very reassuring,” he said. “It was another confirmation” that the priesthood was for me.” 

Looking forward, Bergman is excited to get involved in his assigned church and connect with his new community. “It’s exciting that I’ll get to minister and work with people,” he said. “I just hope people are patient with me as I learn. But I did have that experience as a deacon, so I know that people understand and they’re here to support you about it.” 

The 2022 Priesthood Ordination will be livestreamed for viewing at www.rcda.org/
livestream.

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