Andrew Haissig, 27, is the son of a military family that,
after traveling around the world, settled in Northern
Virginia, where they worshipped at St. Veronica Church in
Chantilly.
He was a senior in high school when he started thinking about
the priesthood. After graduation, he enrolled in the
engineering program at Virginia Tech University in
Blacksburg. He also joined the ROTC program at Tech and had
plans to enter the Air Force after graduation.
After two years at Tech, and much prayer and consultation
with Fathers James Arsenault, his pastor at Tech, and Brian
G. Bashista, former diocesan vocations director, the draw of
the priesthood resurfaced. Haissig had to make a decision –
continue in ROTC and commit to four years of military service
and four years in the reserves, or continue his discernment.
He chose the priesthood, and transferred to Franciscan
University of Steubenville, Ohio, where he graduated with a
bachelor’s degree in philosophy.
“My two years at Franciscan helped me to discern, and I
looked into a few religious orders before I realized I really
felt called to the diocesan priesthood,” said Haissig.
After graduating from Franciscan, he enrolled in Catholic
University’s Theological College in Washington.
Haissig will be ordained a deacon May 31 at the Cathedral of
St. Thomas More in Arlington. Currently, he helps out at St.
Agnes Church in Arlington, assisting with the Rite of
Christian Initiation of Adults.
He looks forward to preaching and to serving in the parish on
a daily basis and to representing the church as one of her
ministers. Haissig enjoyed going to St. Agnes every week as a
seminarian, but looks forward to the summer after his
ordination because, “it will give me a more intimate
experience of everything that goes on in the parish.”
As a future priest, Haissig said he looks forward to
celebrating Mass and hearing confessions and absolving sins
in Jesus’ name.
