Father Jim has been a priest for 25 years. He was the spiritual director at St. Francis de Sales Seminary on the Lake Michigan shore in St. Francis and taught theology at the Sacred Heart School of Theology in nearby Hales Corners. He speaks Spanish and is learning ASL.

Coming to St. Andrew's brings Schuerman closer to his hometown of Lyons, where his 88-year-old father still lives on the farm where Schuerman grew up.