'Unit, Corps, Country, God'

COEUR d’ALENE — Father John Mosier has a story to tell.

It’s the story he tells over and over. His wife, Jackie, not long before she died of breast cancer in 2008, insisted he tell it.

“I’m sitting next to her and she said to me, ‘You should go, you should go do this.’ And I wasn't quite sure what she was talking about, what she meant,” he said.

Jackie knew John had long been considering priesthood. It was something they talked about during their dating days and after they wed.

“She grabbed my hand, she was very stern, and she said, ‘No, you have to promise me that you will tell his story, tell his story.’ And she meant the story of Christ.”

Mosier promised.

On his day of ordination, June 6, 2019, he was presented with a chalice for Mass. On the bottom, it was inscribed, “Tell his story.”

So he tells it.

“I have that privilege of celebrating Mass every day with her, and I use a chalice that has her guidance to me. It's amazing."

When Mosier arrived in July 2019 to lead St. Thomas Catholic Church, his first church, the parish had about 850 families.

Not even three years later, that figure has doubled.

“I love it. I love the climate. As I said, it reminds me a lot of northern Norway. I love the culture of Idaho,” Mosier said during an interview with The Press in his office. “I love Coeur d’Alene, the people. I think this is a really wonderful place.”

Not that he takes credit for growth of the 130-year-old church.

“I love it because the parish is so alive. The team that's here at St. Thomas, what a great team,” he said. “They are so authentic and committed. They believe in the mission of what we're trying to do."

Mosier has a youthful energy and takes a disciplined approach to his calling. He is a no-nonsense man of faith, having spent six years in the Marines, from 1985-91.

His grandfather, father and uncle served in the military.

“I was surrounded by heroes,” he said.

“So veterans were a part of my life for good. And what it means to me is these individuals, men and women, have stepped forward and said, ‘I believe in something that's bigger than me. I believe in an ideal because it's beyond me. It's bigger than me.’”

Growing up

The son of Charles and Barbara Mosier grew up in a large Catholic family in Findlay, Ohio. Hockey was big, as was church.

“They raised us very authentic in our Catholic expression of faith," he said.

At 8, he became an altar server and hockey player.

When he was 11, Mosier wrote a letter to the bishop about becoming a priest.

He heard back.

Wait seven years, he was told, then contact us again. And keep praying.

He waited. He prayed.

In high school, he focused on sports, particularly hockey, and science.

He attended Marquette University, earning degrees in physics and business. He went on to be commissioned as a Marine Corps lieutenant and served as an infantry officer.

His first assignment was with the Fourth Marine Expeditionary Brigade, which was responsible for the northern frontier of Europe. He learned to ski for mountain warfare and they deployed for about six months a year.

“I would tell my dad, ‘I'm getting paid to helicopter ski,’” Mosier said, smiling.

Their primary area of operation was the mountains in northern Norway as they partnered with NATO allies to secure the border.

Marines shared the firm belief they were part of a greater cause.

"We think of unit, Corps, country, God," he said. "Unit, Corps, country, God. We structure our thoughts that way.”

The journey continues

Along the way, he met Jackie at Texas A&M University, where they attended graduate school. They wed about two years later.

“She changed my world the moment I saw her,” he said.

They were married 14 years before cancer took Jackie.

Following her death, he left his career in biomedical engineering and set out on a new path — the one his wife directed him to take.

When he said he was quitting, he recalls his boss asked him, "Are we going to be able to match their offer?”

"No, I don't think so," Mosier told him.

He spent five years at Mount Angel Seminary, about 30 miles south of Portland, was ordained in June 2019 and was assigned to St. Thomas.

It has been beyond his expectations.

“This faith community here in general, all the parishes in the area, are very alive in their faith," he said. "We are also, as is true for a lot of the state of Idaho, experiencing unprecedented growth and we're benefiting from that.”

Military and faith

There are parallels between his life as a priest and his experiences as a young Marine officer.

"How to be a priest has some technical components to it, more spiritual than technical, but there is a technical aspect to it, be professional about it," he said.

"And, you know, you get up early in the monastery. You get up early in the Marine Corps. You start your day with the feet moving."

He said he navigated military life by reading maps.

"Now my life is guided by Scripture,” Mosier said.

Key, he said, is letting go of ambitions and trusting God. That's not always easy, but he sees results when he does.

“The Lord's reward has been so evident in my life just moment after moment,” he said.

Mosier lives his faith. He is joyful and thankful, whether delivering a sermon in the sanctuary, praying with a parishioner or headed out for an early morning walk.

“How I live my life should be telling that same story not just in words, but actions," he said. "And I hope to do that as best I can the rest of my life."