‘Inhumane’ Catholic church fires school principal and escorts her out of building because she married cancer-stricken boyfriend without annulling previous marriage that ended in divorce

DAILYMAIL.COM • 1h ago

By ELIOT FORCE, US NEWS REPORTER 18:08 19 Oct 2026, updated 18:10 19 Oct 2026

A Catholic church in Minnesota fired its elementary school’s principal for marrying her cancer-stricken fiancé before obtaining an annulment of a previous marriage, leaving parents and parishioners outraged.

Tammy Seys, 51, began her tenure at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Waseca, a small city about 70 miles south of Minneapolis, in December 2025.

Less than a year later, she was fired and escorted out of the school without getting the chance to say goodbye to students and staff.

The former principal, who parents and employees considered to be a competent administrator, was let go by the church’s priest because she had decided to marry her fiancé once he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Seys and her fiancé, Patrick Sexton, 64, are both Catholic and had been in previous marriages that ended in divorce.

Upon learning of Sexton’s cancer and realizing they may have limited time together, the couple decided they could not wait for annulment any longer before getting married.

In the Catholic Church, an annulment is granted by tribunal if the union in question is ‘judged to have been null and void from the beginning,’ according to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Seys told the Minnesota Star Tribune that she understood marriage before annulment could put her job at the Catholic school at risk, so she respectfully informed the church’s priest, Father Glenn Frerichs, about her decision.

The former principal said she offered to wrap up her contract and resign at the end of the school year, or leave at a time of the priest’s choosing as long as there was a transition plan that would not leave staff at the school in disarray without leadership.

Seys said she met with Frerichs on August 31, but the meeting provided little clarity about what the priest planned to do.

Then less than a month later on September 22, the principal was suddenly informed in the middle of the school day that she had been terminated for cause and was escorted off the premises.

‘There was no humanity given to me at any level by my priest, at the diocese, absolutely nothing,’ Seys told the Star Tribune.

Father Frerichs justified firing Seys in a statement to parishioners on September 27 after facing backlash for the decision.

The priest said that Seys had decided to move forward with a ‘marriage outside the Catholic Church,’ and that marriage within the church is a sacred institution with strict rules that cannot be bent, the Star Tribune reported.

He also emphasized that firing Seys had nothing to do with her wanting to take care of her fiancé because the church allows partners to move in with each other under such circumstances.

‘Please know that this outcome was not my wish,’ Frerichs said.

While the priest addressed parishioners, protestors stood outside the church and held signs expressing support for Seys and disdain at Frerichs’s choice to fire her.

The protestors also gathered more than 100 signatures on a petition calling for an investigation into Frerichs’s leadership and his removal.

Some parishioners told the Star Tribune that they plan to find another church to attend as long as Frerichs remains in his position at Sacred Heart.

Parents told the outlet that the principal’s sudden firing could leave the elementary school in turmoil, as it has already been facing financial challenges.

Staff at the school confirmed that concern was valid, as some said they were ‘devastated’ by Seys’s departure and have been scrambling to find a new principal for the fourth time in four years.

On October 9, Kristen Walker, 40, a substitute teacher, said she lost her job and was escorted off the premises for protesting the decision. Other teachers at the school are also looking for a new job in the wake of the scandal, the Star Tribune reports.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Sacred Heart Church in Waseca and Father Frerichs for comment.

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