You'd Be Surprised to Know That I...

Below you will find comments of your recently-ordained priests sharing information that people would be surprised to know.

. . . am the seventh of ten brothers with no sisters. My father passed away when I was six, leaving my mom with ten children to take care of. With God's help, all of us survived. In fact, when I was accepted at the Seminary, I had a well-paying job, which I had to leave.

. . . chose to enter the seminary; however, they never knew how long I had been praying about it.

. . . for the most part I did not grow up wanting to be a priest. I did discern for a long time, but I was only involved in parish life significantly once I began to discern.

. . . have discerned a vocation to the priesthood since the sixth grade. I needed years to mature, to find confidence in myself, and to be sure that God was calling me to the priesthood.

. . . have seen the Pope on eight occasions, including in Chicago in 1979.

. . . pursued the call to priesthood in spite of the challenge of physical injury and disease. At the beginning of my journey toward priesthood in 1982, I was struck by a drunk driver which resulted in the amputation of my right leg.

. . . used to be a member of a mobile disc jockey called "Infinite Fantasy."

. . . was a cowboy. I used to help my father on the farm with the cows, milking them, feeding them, and taking good care of them. I have left home, diocese and country to serve in a diocese in the context of mission.

. . . was a lobbyist in the state house representing the political interests of a major corporation. They would also be surprised at my professional career, which involved many issues in the electric utility field (e.g. taxes, rates, coal, nuclear power).

. . . am studying theology in Mexico, living and working amongst the poor, and will soon be ordained, after nearly twenty years in the Capuchin order as a lay friar.

. . . never thought seriously about the priesthood until I was almost 30, and laughed when I was a high school student and a priest-teacher told my parents that he thought I should become a Jesuit; I wanted very badly to get married and have a big family.

. . . came upon my vocation during the communist persecution of my family.

. . . have two brothers who are priests, one sister that is a Benedictine nun, and another brother and sister that are happily living married vocations.

. . . play hacky sack and love it.

. . . was a graduate student in theatre arts in New York City.

. . . was a former trade union leader and socialist activist, and decided to become a priest after the death of my wife Mary in 1999.

. . . actually listened to God when he called.

. . . would start a new career after forty years in medicine.

. . . always felt drawn to the priesthood.

. . . always wanted to be a priest; ever since I can remember it was my dream.

. . . always wanted to be a priest.

. . . always wanted to become a pilot, or at least a flight attendant.

. . . am a convert.

. . . am an extreme introvert.

. . . am a graphic and computer artist/designer, taught college at age 25, and used to speedskate.

. . . am a magician and juggler.

. . . am a season ticket holder for the Kansas City Royals.

. . . am an avid concert-goer.

. . . am an introvert by nature

. . . am becoming a priest.

. . . am being ordained at the age of fifty-five.

. . . am from Medellin, Colombia, was ordained as a deacon for the diocese of Salt Lake City last December, and will be ordained a priest this coming summer. I knew God was calling me from the time I was a child.

. . . am going to be a priest after almost eleven years of being in the seminary in the Philippines and four years in Newark.

. . . am just a regular guy who loves his faith, and I feel called to live out the vocational call of a priest by serving God's people wherever I am placed.

. . . am being ordained a priest of Jesus Christ. They will be very happy when they see their prayers are being answered.

. . . am the only one in the family who escaped Vietnam when I was fifteen years old. My parents and my brother and sisters are still living in Vietnam. I escaped Vietnam with my two aunts. We spent seven days on the sea without food and water.

. . . am the youngest of ten children.

. . . am the youngest of twenty brothers and sisters and the only one who has entered God's service.

. . . at the age of fifty-one am being ordained a priest.

. . . attended Calvin College during my freshman year.

. . . began my discernment to the priesthood very young, probably when I was seven years old.

. . . came from a divorced and then remarried family in the Catholic Church.

. . . came to the United States to study for the priesthood because, in the minds of Vietnamese people, the purpose of coming to U.S. was to look for freedom. As for me, I came to the U.S. to look for freedom to study to become a priest.

. . . can paint a religious icon in three hours.

. . . completed my studies for the priesthood.

. . . considered a political career after performing an internship with a U.S. Congressman while in college.

. . . converted after immigration to the United States. I was accepted into the Church the same year.

. . . could become a priest.

. . . did not come from a Catholic family. I was baptized, confirmed, received first Eucharist at the Easter Vigil in 1997, and entered the seminary to study for the priesthood a year later.

. . . did not have an active faith until I was a junior in college.

. . . did not have any Catholic school education, nor was I ever an altar server growing up.

. . . did not think I was worthy of the call.

. . . do my own auto repairs.

. . . do not care where I am assigned.

. . . drove an 18-wheel truck cross-country for over a year.

. . . enjoy poetry.

. . . entered the seminary.

. . . entered the seminary and was ordained.

. . . experienced life as a lay person for twenty-five years before entering the seminary.

. . . finally followed the call to the priesthood given to me in grade school.

. . . first felt the call to priesthood at nine years of age.

. . . first got the seed for a vocation to the priesthood when I was seven.

. . . first wanted to become a fireman.

. . . for seven years I conducted the Schola Cantorum in my former seminary. We performed in several diocesan masses, often accompanied by a chamber orchestra. I also was the music critic and reviewer of classical recordings for a local newspaper.

. . . graduated from college with a degree in electrical engineering and then the very next year decided to follow God's call to discern a vocation to the priesthood.

. . . grew up in El Salavador and migrated to U.S.A. because of the civil war.

. . . grew up on a farm.

. . . grew up without religion, became a Lutheran, and then converted to Catholicism.

. . . had a scholarship to complete a Ph.D. in Chemistry when I decided to enter the seminary.

. . . had a vocation at a very early age but fought it for fifty years before finally saying "yes."

. . . had an "ordinary" life, and didn't hear God's call until after I had graduated from college and been in the "real" world.

. . . had been studying to become a Spanish teacher before I entered the seminary.

. . . had made a living putting together museum specimens for some of the most famous museums and zoos in the country.

. . . had other careers before entering the seminary and am over forty years old.

. . . have a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do.

. . . have a deep passion for prison ministry.

. . . have a great love for the outdoors. It is an encounter with God like none other!

. . . have a learning disability.

. . . have a tremendous love of God and am willing to give up all things to follow His call.

. . . have a twin brother.

. . . have an identical twin with whom I do many different types of driving and automobile events.

. . . have children.

. . . have left all because of God's people. I love to serve.

. . . have my private pilot's license.

. . . have thought of priesthood since the third grade.

. . . have traveled around most of the Pacific Rim.

. . . have worked in health care since I was sixteen years old.

. . . have worked two very different careers.

. . . I am a registered pharmacist in the Philippines. I come from a highly-diverse family background – political, musical, religious and business-minded men and women in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, Philippines.

. . . I am interested at reading new theological articles, playing cards and going boating on my day off.

. . . I believed that God has plan for each one of us. You will be surprised what He has prepared for you as long as you cooperate with His will.

. . . I come from a strong and faithful ecumenical family. I was raised in the Catholic Church, as was my mother, but my father and his family are Lutherans. Today, both of my parents remain very active in their own churches.

. . . I grew up listening to hip-hop and R&B. I still listen to hip-hop and R&B. Lauryn Hill is my favorite artist/performer.

. . . I left the seminary for a time in college to discern, and reentered my senior year.

. . . I received a graduate degree in civil engineering from Johns Hopkins University and then worked for four years in a lucrative job.

. . . I speak four languages, but am also dyslexic.

. . . I was a judge for seventeen years.

. . . I was a very good soccer player. I served in the Colombian army after high school, was a missionary for two years in Colombia, and studied theology in Florence, Italy. I have also studied language in France. I speak Spanish, Italian, French and English.

. . . I was so excited about going on a pilgrimage to World Youth Day 2000 in Rome, I signed up so far in advance that by the time the WYD finally came around I had already been in seminary for a year!

. . . in my seminary room I have a walrus skull and many furs from animals in my diocese.

. . . it is the prayers of my Grandmother and the army of her friends whom she has enlisted that have given me the encouragement and grace to continue to pursue God's calling for me.

. . . left a 'radiantly' good job in nuclear power to pursue an even higher Power.

. . . left a successful, high paying career to answer God's call to serve Him, and my sisters and brothers, as a priest.

. . . left behind parents, brothers, friends, and career to follow the Father's call.

. . . left the seminary twice in order to discern my vocation to be a priest.

. . . left my career as a mathematician when I was in the best moment of that career (MGA 4.0).

. . . left the Church, worked as a Protestant youth minister, attended a Protestant college and then returned to the Church.

. . . like opera.

. . . like to play chess.

. . . listen to and enjoy Christian heavy metal/Christian hardcore music.

. . . look at my practice of law as being helpful in my ministry once I am ordained and commence parish work. I developed skills during the 24 years I practiced law which will be invaluable to me, and hopefully to the people I am called to serve.

. . . love operating heavy equipment. (Hey, you asked!)

. . . love the Church and all that the Church represents.

. . . maintain a deep interest in literature and art history.

. . . met the President of the United States three times.

. . . have parents who only finished their second year of elementary school

. . . never considered the priesthood until I was in my early thirties. As I sought to further understand my Catholic faith and to make it my own through adult faith formation classes, I eventually became a Eucharistic minister and lector at my parish.

. . . never really considered the priesthood as a young man, and never served as an altar server. In my early twenties I experienced an intense renewal in my spiritual life, and I almost immediately felt that God was calling me to the priesthood.

. . . never thought I would be doing this before I went to college.

. . . never thought that I had what it took even to commit to the seminary. I believed that I should remain in business, make money, and live as I was.

. . . never wanted to be a priest as a child.

. . . was once engaged to be married.

. . . once shot and killed a mountain lion that was attacking me.

. . . was once was billed as "The Only Juggling Country Line Dance Instructor East of the Mississippi."

. . . am only twenty-five years old.

. . . have been on competitive small caliber rifle teams in high school and college.

. . . received my doctorate in biology at MIT before entering the novitiate.

. . . was a Jesuit novice.

. . . was a mathematics major in college.

. . . was a volunteer tutor at a Catholic Elementary School, and that working with the priest at the parish helped me to discover my vocation.

. . . was once married.

. . . was once painfully shy, but I overcame the issue by taking jobs in retail and taking a position as a college campus tour guide.

. . . my mother prayed for a sense of direction in my life once she found out that she had conceived a child.

. . . didn't consider the priesthood until college.

. . . performed concerts around the country and recorded CDs of mostly original music with my family in our Catholic music ministry since I was in fifth grade.

. . . play seven musical instruments.

. . . play the tuba.

. . . played in a Mariachi band and was a member of the Mexican dance ballet.

. . . played in a rock band.

. . . prefer a small town environment.

. . . prosecuted people accused of violent crimes.

. . . ran a national conference for college students modeling the United Nations.

. . . resisted a call to priesthood for several years. Most people think I always had an idea I would be a priest.

. . . have wanted to do two things in my life since I was eight years old. One was to be a police officer, and the other one was to be a priest. Before I entered the Seminary, I joined the Police Academy. I decided not to continue and got out.

. . . speak three languages besides English and was born in the USA.

. . . speak five languages fluently and I can read in seven other languages.

. . . speak many languages.

. . . spent fifteen years in a religious community in Mexico

. . . started to consider religious life and priesthood at the age of sixteen.

. . . studied broadcast journalism and hosted a radio show in college.

. . . studied Tibetan culture, language and religion in Nepal for a year.

. . . Suffer with great devotion the homeless and rejected.

. . . didn't want to be a priest, but knew that Jesus wanted me to, so I said "yes" and found happiness that I wouldn't have found had I said “no.”

. . . that I was a police officer.

. . . thought a friend in high school who was considering priesthood must have been crazy. I never would have considered such a vocation in high school.

. . . took a year off from seminary and backpacked through Europe.

. . . used to run a 1,000 ton steel press on a midnight shift.

. . . visited all the European countries, parts of the Middle East, and North Africa.

. . . have wanted to be a priest since I was a young boy.

. . . was "called" through the words of a young student of mine.

. . . was a Brother for eight years in the Missionary Brothers of Charity.

. . . was a laboratory assistant in my college "rat" lab.

. . . was a maritime lawyer before considering priesthood.

. . . was a member of a DJ group.

. . . was a public prosecutor for fifteen years and left that line of work in 1996 to enter Maryknoll.

. . . was almost engaged before entering the seminary.

. . . was already interested in priesthood when I was in second grade (1972) but did nothing about the call until 1999.

. . . was always scared to speak in public.

. . . was an airline pilot and flew for a major commuter airline. However, I believe that I had a calling from God to become a priest since elementary school, and I finally answered that call.

. . . was away from the Church for many years.

. . . was away from the Church while in college, not practicing my faith, but came back to confession due to the Pope's homily in San Antonio, TX, when I went to see him.

. . . was in 4-H and raised sheep for 11 years.

. . . was once married.

. . . was one of the top wrestlers when I wrestled.

. . . was planning on becoming a family physician before entering seminary.

. . . was in pre-med before entering the seminary.

. . . was raised in the Episcopal Church.

. . . was responsible for a budget of $200 million when I was in charge of buying frozen food for a large East Coast supermarket chain.

. . . was terrified to tell anyone else that I thought I had a vocation to the priesthood until I attended a YOUTH 2000 retreat in 1998.

. . . was the only one in U.S. Postal History ever to flip over a mail truck.

. . . was the rock show DJ on a radio station in Nome, Alaska.

. . . was trained as a Russian linguist by the Army.

. . . was willing to answer the call to the priesthood after my wife died.

. . . worked briefly for an orchid grower, and had considered going into the nursery business.

. . . worked as a restaurant manager without knowing anything about that position. (I learned it later!)

. . . worked with people that live on the street.

. . . would end up a priest!

. . . would ever become a priest. My vocation came about through a return to the sacraments, and encountering Jesus Christ through them, namely reconciliation and the Eucharist.

. . . would ever have thought of becoming a Franciscan priest.

. . . would sacrifice many things in my life to help people get closer to the Lord.