At the end of this semester, Miami University will lose its campus chaplain and Catholic priest, Father Jacob Willig. It’s easy to overlook how much someone can influence a community until they’re gone, and that time is fast approaching.
Willig has been at Miami since 2021. Over the past five years, he’s defined the Catholic student experience on campus, through the Miami Catholic Newman Center and St. Mary’s Church.
As campus chaplain, Willig oversaw the Newman Center, ministry team, student spiritual direction and Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) missionaries at Miami. He reflected on his time at Miami as both unexpected and deeply meaningful.
“It is pretty amazing how a guy like me, who didn’t even want to become a priest, can be taken by the Lord and have so many dreams fulfilled,” Willig said. “Jesus truly has such a love for us and a great sense of humor.”
After this final semester, Willig is being reassigned by Archbishop Robert Casey to Mount St. Mary’s Seminary to help with spiritual instruction for first-year seminarians. A typical priest assignment lasts around six years, so this change is not out of the ordinary.
Father Chris Komoroski will succeed Willig, starting next semester. Komoroski is the former parochial vicar of St. Monica-St. George Church at the University of Cincinnati.
As this transition approaches, it’s important to recognize the impact of Willig in the Miami community. I’ve only ever heard good things about him from both Catholic and non-Catholic students alike.
Kevin Stetter is the campus minister of the Newman Center and has worked alongside Willig for four years. He said his most lasting impression was Willig’s living example of a prayerful life.
“He’ll pray immediately with anyone who’s asked to pray with him,” Stetter said. “His dedication to the Lord is unlike any other priest I’ve seen.”
FOCUS missionary Christine Wendell said she admires Willig’s openness.
“He’s always open for a random conversation, and he’ll join us missionaries for outreach and handing out free coffee,” Wendell said. “He’ll always end up in a deep conversation with someone he’ll probably never see again.”
She added that this sincerity shapes how students perceive him.
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“He’s able to give them such a positive view of a Catholic priest,” Wendell said. “He really cares about us, and will pray the rosary in the middle of the night, walking through campus, walking through uptown, which is something a lot of people don’t see.”
That kind of care isn’t scarce — in fact, many students encounter it within their first few weeks on campus. David Flandermeyer, a first-year finance and entrepreneurship double major, remembers feeling welcomed to Miami by Willig.
“During my first few weeks as a freshman, he had a really good on-campus presence,” Flandermeyer said. “His outreach was great for all the new freshmen.”
Karly Hensley, a senior speech pathology and audiology major, is drawn to his approachability.
“I really appreciate how Father Jacob makes a strong effort to be personable and gentle with the students of the Newman Center and the Miami community,” Hensley said.
Cooper Jones, a senior marketing major and history minor, said Willig helped make the Newman Center into what it is today.
“Father Jacob revolutionized the Newman Center and made it into a home for the students,” Jones said. “He also helped increase Mass attendance to a point where it’s out the door for every Sunday Mass.”
Despite graduating nearly two years ago, Anne Pachuk, a 2024 communication design alumna, still remembers what was possible because of Willig’s presence on campus.
“It was such a blessing to have daily access to Mass and confession while on campus,” Pachuk said. “Father Jacob always struck me as the embodiment of ‘in persona Christi.’”
At the same time, she noted that his seriousness and reverence never came at the expense of his personality.
“If you ran into him at a Tuesday dinner or while he was out for a jog, you’d meet a goofy, fun-loving man who was never lacking a joke or a smile,” Pachuk said. “Yet he always approached the sacraments with such profound reverence. He is truly an example that a life with Christ is a joyful one.”
Willig helped build the Newman Center from the ground up. It’s true that Miami won’t be the same without him, but as he’s said many times during his homilies at Mass, “We need to be excited for what the Lord has in store for us.”
This is not the end for the Newman Center or St. Mary’s, but rather a new beginning.
Willig embodied Miami’s code of “Love and Honor,” and he wishes to leave us with a Bible verse from Romans 12:10: “Love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor,” Willig said.
Jacob Van Riper is a junior business analytics and marketing double major, minoring in psychological science. He serves as the marketing director for the Miami Catholic Newman Center, a senator for the Associated Student Government, and host of Redhawk Radio’s metal and rock radio show “Soul Wars” at redhawkradio.com
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