May 22, 2026 // Diocese

Meet the Ordinandi: Deacon Noah Isch

Tim Johnson

 

As a child, Noah Isch saw priests as something like superheroes.

He watched closely at Mass, mimicking their gestures and words, even “celebrating” his own version of the liturgy at home. With makeshift vestments and a chalice fashioned from thrift store finds, he would play priest — sometimes even offering “Communion” to family members who didn’t quite know what to make of it.

“It wasn’t like cops-and-robbers play,” his father, Tim Isch, recalled. “He really wanted to emulate the priest.”

Deacon Noah Isch will be ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend on Saturday, June 6, at 11 a.m. at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. He will celebrate his first Mass of Thanksgiving the following day at 11 a.m. at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Fort Wayne.

Learning the Life of a Priest

As he prepares for ordination, Deacon Isch has already begun to experience the rhythms and responsibilities of priestly life through his diaconate year.

Serving in parish assignments, including bilingual ministry, he has preached, assisted at the altar and celebrated baptisms — experiences that have only deepened his certainty.

“Every time there’s a brand-new Catholic … it’s a joy,” he said.

One of his first baptisms, however, came with unexpected challenges.

“There were seven families … and I didn’t even know one of them was coming,” he said, recalling the experience with a laugh.

Preaching, too, has become a meaningful part of his ministry.

“I was very intimidated by preaching,” he told Today’s Catholic. “What am I going to have to offer these people?”

Over time, that fear has subsided, and preparing to preach, he said, has “helped me learn how to pray in a new way … and there really is fruit. People will come up after Mass and say, ‘Deacon, I needed to hear that today.’”

Those experiences have only strengthened his desire to serve as a priest, particularly in celebrating the sacraments.

“I think the greatest thing anyone could do with their life is to offer the sacraments,” he said.

An Early Call

That calling began long before seminary, rooted in childhood encounters with the Faith.

“I always go back to second grade,” Deacon Isch said, reflecting on his preparation for first reconciliation and first holy Communion. “That was a powerful experience for me.”

At home, his parents saw those early signs take shape in unmistakable ways.

“He always wanted to play Mass,” said his mother, Ann Isch. “He used crackers for the host and did Mass all the time.”

Tim Isch remembers one moment in particular that still stands out.

“He would give ‘Communion’ to my dad,” he said, noting that Deacon Isch’s grandfather was a Protestant minister.

From an early age, Ann sensed something deeper at work.

“From second grade on … I thought he had a call,” she said.

Rooted in parish life

That early desire matured through parish life — first at Queen of Angels School and later at St. Charles Borromeo School and Parish.

It was through altar serving, particularly during his middle-school years, that his vocation began to take shape more clearly.

“I got to see what the priest does beyond just Sunday Mass,” Deacon Isch said. “I fell in love with the Mass and the Eucharist in a brand-new way,” he said.

Several priests played important roles in his discernment, especially those who served as parochial vicars and spent time with young people.

“They put a lot of time and energy into us,” he said. “That made a big difference.”

‘A Tugging on My Heart’

At Bishop Dwenger High School, that foundation continued to grow.

“There were so many opportunities to pray,” Deacon Isch said.

Daily Mass, Eucharistic adoration and confession were all part of student life, helping to cultivate a deeper relationship with Christ.

“Those things help nurture whatever the Lord is already doing in your heart,” he said.

After high school, Isch enrolled at Marian University as a math major. But the call to the priesthood remained.

During his first year of college, it became undeniable.

“I just felt over and over … a tugging on my heart,” he said. “Like the Lord saying, ‘You know where you’re supposed to go.’”

He reached out to a priest mentor, who asked him a pointed question: Why haven’t you gone to seminary?

“I tried to come up with an answer, and I had nothing,” Deacon Isch said.

Soon after, he applied.

When he shared the news with his parents, they were not surprised.

“You’re the only one who didn’t know,” Ann recalled telling him.

Formed for Priesthood

At Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, Isch’s formation unfolded in stages — beginning with human formation and deepening into a life rooted in prayer.

“You are boys, and we’re trying to make you into good Christian men,” he recalled of his early formation.

Later, his formation focused more intensely on spiritual growth.

“There’s a culture of prayer,” he said. “If you’re not praying, people notice.”

That emphasis has shaped how he understands both priesthood and his own vocation.

“My whole life … will flow from that relationship with the Lord,” he said.

For Tim and Ann Isch, both teachers, their son’s vocation has been a source of deep joy — and deep faith.

“I am so proud I can hardly contain it,” said Ann, who teaches theology at Bishop Luers High School. Tim is a teacher in Fort Wayne Community Schools.

Ann acknowledged the surrender that comes with a priestly vocation.

“I felt like I had to give him up. … God has chosen him,” she said, adding that raising a son who has discerned a call to the priesthood “has definitely deepened my faith.”

The Priest He Hopes to Be

As he prepares for ordination, Deacon Isch returns to the image that has guided him for years.

“The priest is that bridge,” he said — one who brings God to His people and people to God.

Deacon Isch said his desire is not for recognition but faithfulness.

“My goal isn’t that people love me,” he said. “My goal is that they encounter Christ. … The best thing I can do is get out of the way and let Christ work.”

Above all, he hopes to be a holy priest.

“I want my life and ministry to flow from my relationship with Christ,” he said.

And he remains in awe of the calling before him.

“The fact that I’m going to be able to administer the sacraments … it just blows me out of the water,” he said, still marveling at the call he first sensed as a child.

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About Deacon Noah Isch

Home parish: St. Charles Borromeo, Fort Wayne

Ordained a deacon: May 24, 2025, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne

Favorite hobbies: Watching Colts and Notre Dame football, playing golf

Favorite saints: St. John the Evangelist and Pope St. John Paul II

Favorite Scripture: John 6

What made you want to be a priest? Serving Mass at St. Charles, as well as the beauty I saw in the Mass led me to want to be a priest. The Eucharist was, and has been, a huge part of my discernment.

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First Mass of Thanksgiving

Following his ordination, Father Noah Isch will celebrate his First Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Charles Borromeo Parish on Sunday, June 7, at 11 a.m. A Corpus Christi procession will follow Mass, with a reception afterward in the Hession Center.