The heart of a father: Fatherly love shapes archdiocese’s next priest

A version of this story originally appeared in the Summer 2026 edition of The True Voice magazine. Copies of the magazine can be found at parishes across the archdiocese.

Transitional Deacon Michael Figura will soon have a new title. 

Once he’s ordained a priest on June 6, people will call him “Father,” a word that bears a lot of weight for him. 

Over the past year, he’s pondered fatherhood a lot, thinking especially about his own father, the late Randy Figura, who died March 29, 2025, from a heart infection. 

Looking at family photos, Deacon Figura not only sees his father’s love, but a much deeper love, that of God the Father. 

One snapshot shows a young dad wrapping his arms around the blond-haired son before him, covering the boy’s chest and arms with his arms, in an almost eternal embrace.

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To the now-grown son, the picture speaks of his father’s tenderness. But the photo also reminds him of the tender love of God the Father, “Who created us and still holds us today, Who holds us right now.” 

Another photo shows Randy Figura on a couch, with his kids “dogpiled on him, and just the joy in his eyes holding us.” That picture also reflects God’s love, Deacon Figura said, and the joy He has as a Father.

Deacon Figura didn’t ask for much this past Christmas, his mother, Tricia Figura, said. But he wanted to take a few family photos back to Rome, where he is completing his final year of formation. 

The photos remind him of who he is called to be as a priest and spiritual father, he said. 

In the past few months, Deacon Figura said, he’s learned so much about God by reflecting on his own relationship with his dad. 

“It’s been really difficult,” he said about losing his father, “but this understanding of Who God is, that I’m clinging to, reveals to me that I will never be an orphan if there’s a good Father Who’s holding me even now.” 

In his first homily, after his Oct. 2 ordination to the diaconate at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Deacon Figura talked about the Sacred Heart of Jesus, recalling a memory of his dad playing with him and his siblings. The elder Figura pretended to be a tiger, while the kids tried to tackle him. 

They succeeded, and the moment that followed became a treasured one for the soon-to-be priest. “I remember resting my head on his chest when he got tired,” he later recalled, “just resting my head against his heart.” 

“A father is strong, a protector, and one who works. But with those whom he loves and cares for, there’s so much tenderness and gentleness and security found in a father.” 

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Father Scott Schilmoeller, archdiocese vocations director, described Deacon Figura as someone who is smart and has fun and jokes – but also a deep thinker and a contemplative. “He contemplates the Word of God and expresses it through his preaching.” 

Deacon Figura sees spiritual fatherhood incorporated into so many aspects of being a priest and administering the sacraments. 

When a priest baptizes people, they become sons and daughters of God. And every Sunday at Mass, the priest preaches the Good News and restores them as God’s children, he said. 

At the high point of Mass – receiving the Eucharist – “we’re brought ever, ever more deeply and intimately into the Body of Christ,” becoming one with the Son of God. 

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is especially poignant to Deacon Figura. 

“Confession,” he said, “gets me really excited because we get to father people in really concrete ways.” 

“(The enemy) wants to drive us further and further away from God,” Deacon Figura said. “In Confession, the priest welcomes people back with the care of a father.” 

The seminarian – who grew up in St. Stephen the Martyr Parish in Omaha – was a quiet kid who surrounded himself with a few close, faith-filled friends, Tricia Figura said. 

One friend, Max Korensky, was particularly impactful. The two met in kindergarten, and the young Michael Figura learned from the Korensky family important lessons on prayer. 

He saw how the family prayed before meals: from the heart, before ending with a formal prayer. 

In middle school, he participated in Camp Virtus et Veritas, led by Korensky’s father, Toby. There he “learned how to pray and just live his faith,” Tricia Figura said. “He came home wanting to pray more and really have a relationship with God.” 

He studied at Millard West High School for a time before transferring to V.J. and Angela Skutt Catholic High School in Omaha. During those high school years, he flourished as he became involved in orchestra, drama and choir. 

His faith continued growing as he went on to study at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and became involved at the nearby St. John Paul II Newman Center. 

He more fully realized “that God is real, that He’s invested in our lives … that we actually mean the world to Him.” 

“The Lord in many ways is my best friend,” Deacon Figura said. “He’s also my brother. But most of all, He is my Father, Who created me and cares for me … Who cares so deeply about even the little things of my life, to such an extent that I’m never alone.” 

After a year at UNO, he became an archdiocesan seminarian, studying at St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. From there, he continued formation at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

Deacon Figura is pictured at his transitional diaconate ordination in Rome last fall. PONTIFICAL NORTH AMERICAN COLLEGE

Now, as his priestly ordination nears, Deacon Figura’s excitement grows. 

“I’m excited to preach as a priest, to celebrate the Mass, to hear Confessions,” he said, but “I’m most looking forward to spiritual fatherhood. I receive so much joy from fathering people and drawing them deeper into a relationship with the Lord, watching Him bring life and healing into people’s lives.” 

He said he’s also looking forward to being surrounded by family and friends at ordination, including his brothers Joe and Drew Figura and his sister, Ally Watanabe, her husband, Reyn, and their infant daughter Mira. 

Randy Figura – who encouraged and supported his son as a seminarian – will be at the ordination, too, Tricia Figura said. 

“We’ve seen his presence since the day he died,” she said. “It’s everywhere. I continue to see him in all four kids and all of us. He will definitely be there with us.”

Deacon Figura with his mother, Tricia, after his October 2025 ordination to the transitional diaconate. ANNA KORENSKY PHOTOGRAPHY

Deacon Figura, pictured following his ordination to the transitional diaconate last fall in Rome. ANNA KORENSKY PHOTOGRAPHY

Deacon Figura greets a youth at a group home in Mexico City during the 2024 seminarian retreat. HOPE OF THE POOR

PONTIFICAL NORTH AMERICAN COLLEGE

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