2026 Vocations Awareness Supplement
Father Joseph Feltz loves his faith—and IndyCar racing
Father Joseph Feltz, pastor of St. Christopher Parish in Indianapolis, poses on May 12 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with Karen King, principal of his parish’s school. In addition to serving as pastor of St. Christopher, Father Feltz is also a chaplain for IndyCar Ministry. (Submitted photo)
By Matt Keating (Special to The Criterion)
Considering his love of IndyCar racing, Father Joseph Feltz didn’t hesitate when he was offered his latest assignment as an archdiocesan priest.
Archbishop Charles C. Thompson appointed him to serve as the pastor of
St. Christopher Parish in Indianapolis, which is less than a mile from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“I was told it was a very easy decision,” said Father Feltz, who began serving at
St. Christopher in July of 2025. “When I was asked to be pastor, I said yes right away. I didn’t hesitate.”
Besides his leadership of the parish, Father Feltz is also a chaplain for IndyCar Ministry, an ecumenical organization. He celebrates Mass for the IndyCar drivers, crews and fans during the race season.
“I’ve been with the ministry for a while,” Father Feltz said, noting that his ministry has taken him to races in Toronto, Milwaukee, St. Petersburg, Fla., and other venues in the past. “I’m just at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the IndyCar Ministry now. I love the month of May around here. It’s very exciting.”
So is seeing the turnout for the Masses that are celebrated on the morning of the Indianapolis 500, Masses he has concelebrated alongside Archbishop Charles C. Thompson and his predecessor, now-Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, archbishop of Newark, N.J.
“We had 420 people come to the Masses in the race car garages when it only seats 100 people,” says Father Feltz, who attended the Indy 500 as a boy with his dad in the 1970s and has been at every Indy 500 since 1986. “It was a wonderful thing to see so many people attending Mass before the race.”
Father Feltz said his interest in auto racing is partly rooted in his experience of being trained in and working as an engineer prior to his discerning a call to the priesthood.
The engineering that’s involved in creating the designs of the engines used in IndyCar racing amazes him. Still, he appreciates his closeness to IndyCar even more, viewing it as a community in which he gets to give pastoral care as a priest.
“I feel like my interest in the community and my faith have both increased,” said Father Feltz. “I’ve been encouraged by the re-emergence of faith in people, particularly among young people.”
He believes a lot of young people are disenchanted by today’s culture and so are seeking more spiritual meaning in their lives.
“I think technology, artificial intelligence and the way it can dehumanize people has led to more young people looking for something more meaningful and spiritual,” Father Feltz said. “They are looking for something that can allow them to recapture their humanity. Some people pulled away from their faith, but they are returning. It’s exciting to see that the Holy Spirit is so active.”
Father Feltz experienced that same longing for something deeper in his young life—a search that led to him becoming a priest.
‘This has been a great fit for me’
Growing up in Indianapolis, he attended St. Barnabas School and graduated from Roncalli High School in 1981.
His education continued at the General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) where he earned a degree in electrical engineering.
“I worked at Allison Gas Turbine and later Allen-Bradley as an electrical engineer, and I enjoyed my work at both places,” said Father Feltz.
Still, when he attended a retreat at St. Barnabas Parish, he felt drawn to strengthen his faith.
“I decided I was going to start praying the rosary at lunchtime in the parking lot of my office complex,” Father Feltz recalled. “I kept the beads in my pocket. At first, I laughed over the idea of pursuing the priesthood, but the more I thought of it, the more I began to think it was a great idea. I had faith I could do it.”
That belief grew after talking with a few priests, including now-Archbishop of Seattle Paul D. Etienne, who was vocations director for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis at the time of Father Feltz’s discernment of the priesthood.
“I eventually left engineering,” said Father Feltz. “I attended Saint Meinrad Seminary in the fall of 1997 and was ordained on June 1, 2002.”
Father Feltz’s first assignment was in Richmond, where he served for two years as associate pastor for the parishes of Holy Family, St. Andrew and St. Mary—now combined as St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish.
“That kept me busy,” said Father Feltz. “I worked with Father Todd Riebe and really learned a lot from him. We have remained friends since then.”
Subsequent assignments have taken him across central and southern Indiana. He served as pastor of St. Lawrence Parish in Lawrenceburg, as dean of the Batesville Deanery and as administrator of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Aurora. He later served as pastor of St. Malachy Parish in Brownsburg.
“When St. Malachy moved from the city of Brownsburg to the cornfields, we had 72 acres to build the new school and rectory,” said Father Feltz. “That was very nice.”
Father Feltz has also served as priest moderator and sacramental minister at St. Mary-of-the-Woods Parish in
St. Mary-of-the-Woods and Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Terre Haute. He has also been pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in New Albany and dean of the New Albany Deanery. And he served as vice-chancellor and vicar of clergy for the archdiocese.
“That was wonderful,” he said. “I was vicar for the clergy for four and a half years. I served with Cardinal Tobin and Archbishop Thompson.”
At every turn, Father Feltz has kept his focus on leading people closer to God. Now, he gets to combine that desire for his parishioners with his ministry for the IndyCar community while leading St. Christopher Parish.
He sums up that combination by saying, “This has been a great fit for me.”
(Matt Keating is a freelance writer and a graduate of Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis. For more information on a vocation to the priesthood in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, visit HearGodsCall.com.) †
