We are blessed with a rich international, cultural heritage with priests from Oregon, Ireland, Malta, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Sri Lanka, India, Poland, Argentina and Mexico.
Some of them have taken the time to write their vocation stories in hopes that they may help another who is in the process of discernment.
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.[1]
Faith is an act and an attitude that embraces the whole person: his deep trust, his fidelity, his intellectual assent, and his emotional adherence. Faith also incorporates a person’s life and his decisions. God calls each one of us to faith, to surrender, to give us a mission that requires a lifetime of...
Click here to read the rest of Father Luis' story.
Let me introduce myself, I am Fr. Todd Unger, presently the pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle in Redmond, Oregon. I was ordained June 29, 1982.
I was born and raised in St. Thomas Parish, so it is an added blessing for me to return and minister to the parish that fostered my vocation to the priesthood. In those first 18 years in Redmond I did the normal things of a Catholic boy and young adult. In the early years the Sisters of the Holy Names would spend one or two weeks in the summer teaching summer school. I think that they were the first to plant the seeds of a vocation in my soul.
Click here to read Father Todd's story.
Rev. Jose Thomas Mudakodiyil was born on May 5, 1972 in Kallara in the state of Kerala in India, the sixth and last child that includes three elder brothers and two elder sisters. He completed his lower and middle school at SKVUP School and the high school at St. Thomas school. He felt God’s call to priesthood and in response to that call he joined the seminary of the Salesian Religious Order at Mannuthy in Kerala in 1987.
Click here to read Father Jose's story.
My name is Fr. Ildefonce Mapara, OSB, a Benedictine monk from Tanzania. I live in Klamath Falls at St. Pius X Catholic church. I am in residence and do travel in different places in the country to seek funds for social projects in southern Tanzania. I am pleased to share with you my vocation story though the website of the Diocese of Baker.
Click here to read Father Ildefonce's story.
I'm from Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is an island in South Asia. Sri Lanka is a multi-religious country: 70% are Buddhists. Hinduism is the second most prevalent religion at 12%, Islam is the 3rd most dominant religion in the country at 9%, with Christianity at 7%. Christianity was brought into the country by the Portuguese. Most of the Christians live in the western coast of the island. My hometown is 100% Catholic. Even today it remains 100% Catholic and every day the church bell rings for Angelus at 5:30 am and 6:30 pm.
Click here to read Father Camillus' story.
This year, on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary into heaven on August 15th, I will celebrate thirty-eight years of Priesthood. As I look over the years, I am grateful to my parents, siblings, and all the people that I serve.
Click here to read Father Maag's story.
I was raised on a ranch in Burns, Oregon. Ranch life proved to help me in my later years of priesthood, yet most important was my Catholic faith. My father and mother always kept the four children committed to Mass and the Sacraments.
After graduating from Burns Union High, I attended Ron Bailie School of Broadcasting in Portland and became a disc jockey for radio. I worked in radio for some years and later in retail for a large sporting goods store in Phoenix, Arizona. I also worked for MCI in sales.
Click here to read Father Bailey's story.