After 22 years of silence as a Trappist monk in Iowa, Father Robert Valit, a self-proclaimed extrovert, decided to become a parish priest.

Although he valued a life of prayer, Valit realized in 1972 that he “felt a strong desire to be among the people,” according to an article published by the Churches of Saint Michael & Saint Mary in Stillwater in 2010. “I loved the priesthood. I love the Eucharist, I love people, and I’m very grateful for the affirmation I receive from people.”

Valit, who served the Stillwater churches as a retired priest for 17 years, died of natural causes Saturday at the Little Sisters of the Poor Holy Family Residence nursing home in St. Paul.

He was 96.

Prior to his retirement in 2001, Valit served as parochial vicar of Our Lady of Grace in Edina and as parochial administrator and pastor at the Church of St. Peter in Forest Lake.

He also served in various capacities at the Church of St. John the Baptist in Dayton; the Church of St. Luke in St. Paul; the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Little Canada; the Church of St. Columba in St. Paul; the Church of St. Margaret Mary in Minneapolis; North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, and the Church of St. Anne in Minneapolis.

“He often commented that he could never have imagined himself having such a rich, full, meaningful life,” said Kris Malone, whose husband, Bill, was Valit’s first cousin once removed.

“The priesthood is about service to God and to His people. He loved serving people in that capacity. He found joy in serving others.”

Valit’s favorite parts of being a priest were consecrating the Eucharist, in which the blessing of bread and wine is communally distributed as the body and blood of Christ, and hearing confessions, Kris Malone said.

“When people come to confession, most of the time they have something important that they want to talk to someone about or talk about or be unburdened from,” Malone said.

“He said that confession was such an impactful time in their life and that it was an opportunity for him to give guidance.”

Converted to Catholicism

Valit was born in Maryland, and his family moved to St. Louis Park when he was in fourth grade.

Valit went to Sunday school when he was in fifth grade at a Methodist church, where he was baptized. Two years later, he went to a Congregational church, where he sang in the choir and was baptized — again. He graduated from St. Louis Park High School in 1946.

The following year, he was baptized into the Catholic church.

“He would say, ‘I was baptized three times. I hope one of them sticks,’” said Father Michael Skluzacek, a longtime friend and spiritual adviser.

Valit went to St. John’s University in Collegeville for two years, where his mentor was Father Godfrey Diekmann, an internationally renowned liturgist and theologian. “I adopted his love of liturgy, and it is my great love,” Valit said in the 2010 interview.

In July 1950, Valit entered the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance at the New Melleray Abbey, a Trappist monastery outside of Dubuque, lowa. He became an ordained priest there in 1961.

The Trappist life “was a cloistered, contemplative life,” the 2010 article stated. “There is emphasis on prayer, liturgy, spiritual reading and study, and the day-to-day self-sustaining work of the monastery. With the exception of occasional conversation with superiors, an atmosphere of silence was the rule.”

Valit returned to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in 1972 to become a diocesan priest. Because he came from outside the Archdiocese, Valit was required to go through a five-year period called “incardination” before he could assume the duties of pastor.

“I thoroughly love being a priest, and I wouldn’t want to be anything else,” he told the Catholic Spirit in 2018. “Once I knew that I wanted to be a priest, my life had meaning. I understand that the priesthood is always in the service of God and his people — always. A priest was never ordained for himself. … That’s taught me to be available to people.”

Retired, but didn’t quit

After Valit retired in 2001, Skluzacek asked him to come to Stillwater and help at the parishes of St. Mary and St. Michael.

Valit said he loved being a retired priest. “I do the things I love to do,” he said in 2010. “I don’t really do anything I don’t want to do. I never go to a meeting, and I get paid.”

But being a priest was “not without its challenges,” he continued.

“The task of preparing homilies and the occasional loneliness can be difficult, but the rewards are abundant.”

Valit was an extraordinary parish priest because of his “love for people and his willingness to serve people,” Skluzacek said.

“He was just a fantastic preacher. He was so well-read.

“I think what really struck me about his preaching is that he was not a moralizer, so to speak, but he always pointed to the kingdom of God with everything that he said. … He always pointed to … the glory of God. Glory was one of the things that he talked about all the time, that we are called to glory. He saw the priesthood as an image of the eternal priesthood of Jesus Christ.”

One of Valit’s duties was to serve as confessor for the Carmelite Hermitage of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a cloistered order of hermits in Lake Elmo, according to Skluzacek.

“They wanted a confessor, and I suggested Father Valit, and he just jumped at the opportunity,” Skluzacek said.

“He loved it. Once a week, he would go out there and hear their confessions. He knew monastic life. Even though he had left the monastery, he still very much appreciated it. They loved having a confessor who appreciated religious life and understood it. He was a good confessor because he was close to God.”

Visitation, funeral

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Church of St. Mary in Stillwater, with vespers at 7 p.m.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda will celebrate the funeral Mass at 11 a.m. Friday at St. Michael in Stillwater.

Interment will immediately follow, at St. Michael Cemetery. A lunch will then take place in St. Michael’s Rose Hall.

Memorials to St. Croix Catholic School in Stillwater or to the Little Sisters of the Poor are suggested.

Simonet Funeral Home in Stillwater is handling arrangements.