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The Rev. Erik Richtsteig is shown at St. James the Just Catholic Church in Ogden on Dec. 7, 2013.ROBBY llOYD/Special to the Standard-Examiner

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The Rev. Erik Richtsteig is shown at St. James the Just Catholic Church in Ogden on Dec. 7, 2013.ROBBY llOYD/Special to the Standard-Examiner

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OGDEN — Father Erik Richtsteig took a seat on a chair in the cry room at St. James the Just Catholic Church on a quiet weekday afternoon for this interview. Above him was a beautiful painting of Jesus Christ as a child at the knees of his mother, Mary.

Through the window, you could see a few parishioners praying in the chapel. There was a senior couple in the foyer, loading donated packaged food and related items into a truck to take to Catholic Community Services in downtown Ogden.

It has been a long six months for Richtsteig. On June 16, a shooting occurred during a Sunday Mass on Father’s Day in the now-quiet chapel. James Evans was shot in the back of the head by his son-in-law. A turn of Evans’ head kept the bullet from hitting his brain. It hit his jaw, providing a path to a fairly complete recovery.

“When I hear a sharp noise in the chapel now, I look up,” the priest said, “Or when I see someone coming into church late, it is almost reflex. I wonder, ‘What are they doing?’ I think it will always be that way.”

Evans was at Mass with his wife, Tara, when Charles Jennings Jr. entered the church and shot once before fleeing. He stole a vehicle and was captured when he ran out of gas in Box Elder County. Jennings entered a guilty plea in the case in November and will be sentenced in January.

Richtsteig, who has been with St. James for a little more than 10 years, said he is proud of the way his congregation handled the situation. He added that it was a day of tragedy but also of miracles. James Evans recently completed his final reconstructive jaw surgery and should be fine physically, the priest said. Richtsteig also pointed to the fact that no one else was hurt, and the suspect was captured.

“There is (also) the bravery that the people in this parish showed on that day,” he said. “They aren’t crying for revenge or anything like that. Yes, they want justice done, and I think that is fair. Most of them have moved on.”

Richtsteig said forgiveness of Jennings remains a personal struggle.

“I have to forgive him, too,” he said. “There are times when I want to forgive him, and times when I really don’t want to forgive him. I pray for him, but I still want him in jail for quite a while to protect his son, to protect society, and I hope while he is in there, he comes to grips with what he did.”

Richtsteig added that looking back on the day of the shooting, God was there with him.

“I was basically on autopilot. Now looking back, I can see the hand of the Lord and the Holy Spirit moving with me that whole day,” he said.

With a decade behind him at St. James, there is a lot more to Richtsteig than that one Sunday out of more than 500 in Ogden. He shared a unique anecdote about one, small reason that stirred his interest in becoming a Catholic and a priest.

Richtsteig was born in Cedar City and grew up in Salt Lake City. He said he decided to become a Catholic at around 10 and became one at age 15.

At age 10, he also thought about being a priest.

“This is funny. I’ve always loved horror movies, not the splatter movies but the good, old-fashioned kind,” Richtsteig said. “Who is Dracula afraid of. He is afraid of the priest with his cross. It really got a 10-year-old’s attention that God would have that good power. In 1989, I decided to go ahead with it and went to seminary in Oregon.”

It was a busy time.

“There are a lot of classes on sacred Scripture, a lot of classes on doctrine, church history, a little bit of psychology and some other things,” he said. “That is just part of it. There is also the human coordination which is being a good Christian. There is also our field education, which is practical ministry. The first year, I got to work at a medium security prison (in Oregon) one day a week. That was quite enlightening. I got to meet with three guys who were doing life for murder. Lovely guys, but I’d never want to see them in the street.”

After Richtsteig was ordained, he was assigned to St. Mark’s in Salt Lake City for a year. He then became the priest at St. Anthony’s in Helper in central Utah. Helper was an older community where, he said, he got to do a lot of funerals.

He added that you get to see the journey of life. Every child is baptized, and when you are at a parish for a long time, “you get to see them grow up.”

“What do you mean, you don’t get to have any kids? I have hundreds of them,” he said.

Richtsteig said there is one goal he believes would help a morally struggling world.

“I would like people to know the Lord Jesus better,” he said. “Pope Francis has talked about this an awful lot. Religion isn’t just learning about facts, figures and doctrine, it is really about having an encounter with Jesus. Once you know him, that is what is going to change your life. You still have to learn to say ‘no’ to yourself, because that is what society is worst at.”

Rob Wardle, who teaches a seventh-grade confirmation class for the parish, said he appreciates the efforts and the strength Richtsteig provides to the parish.

“He is well-liked by the youth and has a good pulse with the young people,” Wardle said. “He is very serious about helping the spiritual welfare of the parish. He is a man of God. He guided the parish through as tough and horrific event (the shooting) as a parish can go through. He is personable and extremely intelligent.”

Krislee Moreno, who is the director of education for the parish, added that Richtsteig is truly the “father” of the parish.

“He is our dad, and we are his kids, even us older members,” she said. “He takes it very seriously.”

Richtsteig is familiar with the religious demographics of Utah, having grown up here. In Northern Utah, the Catholic Church is No. 2 for membership, behind The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He said Mormons not listening to hearsay about Catholics and vice versa is the best way to avoid misunderstandings.

He said the attitude of Mormons toward Catholics is slowly improving. He said a grandson of former LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley was the chief electrician on the current St. James Church when it was built.

“What I wish they would do — and I hope we would the same — they get to know what we really believe, not what they have been told we believe,” he said, adding he knows the incorrect information isn’t coming from LDS leadership.

“We have a lot of the same views on moral issues and family issues. It has been heartening to see us work together more,” he said.

With a Christmas tree in the foyer, Richtsteig is primed for a busy holiday season.

“What we are celebrating is wonderful,” he said. “But it can be very tiring. … On Christmas Day after the last Mass, I will go down to my mother’s. We will have dinner and open presents, and then I will sleep.”