Meet a Viatorian: Fr. Daniel Belanger, CSV

by | Mar 16, 2026 | Meet a Viatorian, News Archives

In 1991, after serving ten years in the Air Force and earning associate’s and bachelor’s degrees during service, Fr. Dan Belanger, CSV, accepted a buyout from the military due to a surplus in his service area. While Dan grew up in California, his parents had since moved to Las Vegas, so Dan headed to southern Nevada. “Since I was getting out of the military, I figured I’d go where my parents were and where there’s plenty of work,” Fr. Dan said.

A photo of Dan from 1989 during his military service.

At first, he sought out work in odd jobs in a factory, as a tour guide, and other bits around the bustling area. All the while, his draw to service kept magnifying inklings he felt toward priesthood. He explored seminary with the Diocese of Las Vegas and got more active in volunteer service around the area.

“As I looked around town to serve and volunteer, I found Catholic Charities. And lo and behold, I came across Fr. Tom von Behren doing an interview there – and he was vocation director,” Fr. Dan recalls. “So, I gave him my spiel!”

Dan engaged more with Viatorian ministry through St. Thomas More Catholic Community in Henderson, NV, and eventually applied for religious formation. After being accepted, he moved to Arlington Heights, IL, where then-Fr. Chris Glancy, CSV, and Fr. John Van Wiel, CSV, were his formation directors. On August 5, 1996, Dan professed first vows as a Viatorian religious.

During Fr. Dan’s ordination Mass in 2007, the priests who were present offered the customary blessing, including Fr. Richard Rinn, CSV, who Fr. Dan would later follow in service at St. Viator.

In those early years, then-Br. Dan worked as a middle school religion teacher at St. Viator School in Chicago (1996-2000) and then moved to Bourbonnais, IL, to work in youth ministry at Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church (2000-2003). “When I was teaching at St. Viator, I liked working with middle schoolers. So, I studied education and earned certification in youth ministry, too,” Fr. Dan said of his graduate studies in Education at Loyola University Chicago and Dominican University.  “And when I moved on to Maternity BVM, I picked up the youth ministry program – building out retreats, adding service stuff, and all of that! After a few years, I realized I was getting a bit more mature, settling in, and desiring more shape and structure for ministry.”

For Br. Dan, that meant asking the community for priestly formation so that he could become a sacramental minister and serve in that way, too. In 2003, he began studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago; then in 2006, he was ordained a deacon at St. Viator in Chicago and headed back to Nevada to do his diaconate year at St. Thomas More. On June 1, 2007, Fr. Dan was ordained a priest at St. Thomas More.

After brief stints in our former Foundation of Belize and at Saint Viator High School in Arlington Heights, IL, another crossroads moment came in 2009 with Fr. Tom, who was then Provincial. He asked Fr. Dan to serve as Pastor for St. George Parish in Bourbonnais, IL. Fr. Dan would spend the next 15 years in that role.

Fr. Dan talks with First Communion children at St. George Church.

“During those 15 years, I wasn’t just with St. George – I helped as chaplain at Bishop Mac and had 10 years serving as pastor for St. Mary’s in Beaverville, IL, too. It’s all like a slice of old-fashioned Americana!” Fr. Dan said. “There were St. George groups active in particular ministries that they’d been committed to things for years, and over time, I worked with many folks who responded well to a younger priest who wanted to be there for a while.”

In 2024, it was time to move on – once again, back to Las Vegas, to serve as Parochial Vicar for St. Viator Catholic Community. “St. Viator is a great parish to serve. Having a school here and a strong youth ministry with Associate Rosy Hartz has been a blast,” Fr. Dan said. “I continue to love working with youth. I love the trips to NCYC and LA Youth Day. And I love how my whole Viatorian religious life has involved walking with youth in new and different ways.”

Come July 1, 2026, after some time to reacquaint himself with Las Vegas and catch his breath after 15 years as a pastor, Fr. Dan will dive back in as a pastor once again, this time for St. Viator. “We’ll work to build a new stability. We can help the parish settle into a steady and healthy rhythm again,” Fr. Dan said. “As members of the Clerics of St. Viator, we are guided by the charism that has shaped this parish from the beginning—to proclaim Jesus Christ and to build communities where faith can be lived, deepened, and celebrated. I value the spirit of collaboration between priests, associates, staff, and parishioners, and I look forward to continuing that together.”

More on Fr. Dan from Viatorians.com:

Updated by Associate Dan Masterton on March 16, 2026.