Father Bonaventure Rummell, C.F.R., admits he has “wrestled” with his calling to the priesthood. First implanted as a youngster in seventh grade in Oregon listening to the adventures of his pastor, John Murphy, a missionary of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, he says the calling never really went away. He just chose not to think about it for a time. more

Cardinal Dolan will ordain 11 men to the priesthood at a Mass in St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Saturday, May 25 at 9 a.m. It is the highest number of priests that the cardinal has ordained since becoming Archbishop of New York in 2009. more

When Father Marek Wasilewski, M.Id, asked Jesus for a sign, one wasn’t long in coming. He had just returned from a pilgrimage to his native Poland and had met a girl there. But ever since he was a child, he had wanted to become a priest. Confused, he went to the chapel at St. John’s University where he was a freshman and knelt to pray. more

The day after Father Esteban Sanchez graduated from high school in his native Ecuador his family threw a big party for him. It was on a Saturday. On Sunday morning he told his parents he was leaving home to begin his journey towards the priesthood. more

As a boy, Father Kenneth Riello was fascinated by his First Holy Communion missal. In fact, he was practically “enamored” with it, he recently recalled. more

From an early age, Father Sandro A. Leyton, 30, knew he wanted to enter the priesthood. It was just a matter of where. more

During high school, Father Luke Joseph Leighton, C.F.R., started to ask himself some serious questions: What difference does my life make? Why am I here? What is life all about? more

Father Peter Heasley first began thinking about the possibility of becoming a priest during his college years as a student of architecture at Syracuse University. It wasn’t until he served with the Peace Corps in the West African nation of Mali from 2003 to 2005, however, that the idea of such a vocation really started to take shape. more

As a 13-year-old altar server, Lorenzo Laboy inadvertently upstaged the priest at the end of Mass by administering the final blessing. In his 20s he actually took to the stage, as a lead actor off-Broadway, and was cast as an extra in a major motion picture. Now 32, soon he’ll stand before a congregation, ordained to perform his most coveted role of all: that of a priest, consecrating bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. more

Father Felix Desilets, C.F.R., has been a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal for 15 years, and while his vocation for religious life was clear, he was unsure if he was called to be a priest. more