Meet the young men studying for the priesthood.
John Anthony Buono, from St. Agnes Church in Arlington, attends Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md.
How old were you when you first started sensing a call to the priesthood? I was 17 years old at WorkCamp when I first started sensing a call to the priesthood. I was truly inspired by the trip because of the service and prayer it provided, and I truly felt God moving my heart. It was not until my junior year of college, after turning down a full-time sales job offer, where I officially came to the realization that God was calling me to the seminary, and I applied soon after.
What are you most looking forward to about seminary? The strong fraternity and brotherhood. While visiting the Mount once during my application process, I got to meet so many fine young men who were just so happy to be together, and it was for the simple reason that they are all growing in holiness together and fighting for each other to be good and holy servants of God.
Joseph Connor, from St. Rita Church in Alexandria, attends Mount St. Mary’s Seminary.
How has your prayer life changed as you progressed in your discernment? Consistent daily prayer is what allowed me to hear God’s voice and so begin the process of discerning the priesthood. Now that I am entering 2nd Theology, my prayer has progressed in that I recognize God more easily and so can know more what he is asking of me, which may very well be the priesthood.
Which Gospel passage best describes God’s call to you, and why? The parable of the pearl hidden in the field, found in Matthew 13, describes God’s call to me because it exemplifies how God can give us something that is worth more than all else in our life. The man in the parable values this pearl above the total worth of all his possessions. Likewise, I found my desire to become a priest makes my life singular and simple. It makes me desire lofty goals of heavenly reward, just as the pearl is a very valuable item.
Nicholas Farmer, Our Lady of Hope Church in Potomac Falls, attends St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa.
What are you most looking forward to about seminary? I am most looking forward to being able to dedicate all my time to learning more about the faith, to praying and to forming good friendships with the other seminarians.
What are your favorite pastimes? My favorite pastime is just talking with people, getting to know them and talking about real and deep things. I like chess, board games, golf and frisbee golf. I like to read and I write. I love a lot of music.
Andrew Garcia, from St. John the Baptist Church in Front Royal, attends Mount St. Mary’s Seminary.
What’s the hardest thing for you to leave behind for seminary? Friends in Front Royal. I tend to be a slave to routine and familiar faces and places. Front Royal is a small enough town that you can keep in close contact with all that without really making an intentional effort. Being physically distant, that kind of no-effort maintenance of relationships won’t be possible anymore.
How old were you when you first started sensing a call to the priesthood? Probably (during) high school, but I didn’t acknowledge it until later. Instead, I spent a good six-plus years in the work force.
What are your favorite pastimes? Cooking with friends, small artistic projects with wood/metalworking, fishing.
Michael Gibbons, from St. Agnes Church in Arlington, attends St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.
How old were you when you first started sensing a call to the priesthood? I first started sensing a call to the priesthood when I was 23. It’s not something I really thought about growing up, but around that time I was graduating from college and seriously discerning my vocation for the first time. Through that experience, I began to feel a pull toward the priesthood.
Which Gospel passage best describes God’s call to you, and why? Mt 6:25-34 sticks out to me. This passage focuses on trusting that God will provide and highlights his abundant care and love for us. As I reflect on my own discernment, there is a sense that God was always there and always providing. Even during those times when I worried or tried to provide for myself, God always was gently guiding me along the way and providing what I needed.
What are you most looking forward to about seminary? I am most looking forward to entering into a way of life that is very intentionally centered around Christ. In particular, I’m excited to have the opportunity to attend Mass daily, deepen my understanding of the faith in the classroom and pray as a community.
Christian Kleb, from Holy Trinity Church in Gainesville, attends Mount St. Mary’s Seminary.
How old were you when you first started sensing a call to the priesthood? I was in fourth grade when I started altar serving and it was in the context of Mass that I had the first thoughts about the possibility of becoming a priest. As I got older my love for the church grew and I felt that the Lord was inviting me to offer my life to him in this way.
How has your prayer life changed as you progressed in your discernment? Prayer and a relationship with our Father is everything. You cannot discover who you are and what your mission is on this earth without praying. As my desire to serve the Lord has grown, so has my desire to spend more time with him in prayer. When you love someone, you want to spend time with them and in these times of prayer the Lord continues to reveal Himself to me more and more.
Which Gospel passage best describes God’s call to you, and why? The calling of Nathanael is a passage that speaks to me. Before Nathanael knew Jesus, Jesus knew Nathanael. There is this reality that the Father has always known me and through it all, he still calls.
Connor Kleb, from Holy Trinity in Gainesville, attends St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.
What’s the hardest thing for you to leave behind for seminary? The hardest thing for me to leave behind is definitely my job as a teacher. I have loved every aspect of teaching and have learned a tremendous amount about myself and life in general. It has been incredibly rewarding to be with the kids through their challenges and triumphs and to see them develop into who God created them to be. Every moment from beginning to end has been a gift and I will always be grateful for the time God gave me at St. Ambrose in Annandale.
Which Gospel passage best describes God’s call to you, and why? “He said to them, ‘Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him” (Mt 4:19-20). I know it is a little clichéd, but I did hear Our Lord speaking to me in prayer through these verses. I was involved with the Charismatic Movement in college. There was this one time when I was being prayed over, invoking the Holy Spirit, and I heard these verses come to me in a word, “Lay down your nets, and come follow me.” I thought to myself, “Huh, I don’t even know what part of the Bible that’s from.” I didn’t understand why the verse came to me in prayer and I didn’t share it with anyone else in the group. Then the group leader of the prayer team leaned over to me and said these exact words, “Connor, I don’t even know what part of the Bible this is from, but I think the Lord is telling you to lay down your nets and come follow him.” I was shocked to say the least that we had both been given that word from Our Lord. I had thought about the priesthood before this time but there were things, hang-ups I had that were preventing me from seeking God first. This experience brought a new conversion of heart and started me on a more serious road to discernment. Our Lord was telling me to lay down my nets, my hang-ups, my burdens tying me down to this world, and follow him instead. It still took a while, weak as I am, but Our Lord never stopped seeking me.
Luke Lenhard, from St. Jude Church in Fredericksburg, attends Mount St. Mary’s Seminary.
How old were you when you first started sensing a call to the priesthood? I first sensed that I had a call to the priesthood around the age of 18. It happened while I was praying the Rosary and reading scripture; it just hit me, and I knew that I was being called to some form of religious life. At first, I considered monastic life, but I quickly understood that I was not called to be a monk. Instead, I decided to study theology at Belmont Abbey College and continued to pray and discern how God was calling me. It was during adoration at the SEEK 2022 Catholic conference that all doubts were dispelled, and I knew I was being called to the priesthood.
How has your prayer life changed as you progressed in your discernment? The prayer life of every person has its ups and downs. Sometimes we have dry seasons with little consolations, and sometimes we feel as though we’re levitating in front of the Eucharist. During both the dry seasons and times of consolation, I try to look past my feelings to understand what God is calling me to do. Prayer is the time where we listen to the voice of God and learn from him. This is the relationship between my prayer and discernment, that is, listening to the voice of God and sifting through the emotions within myself to see which voice is the voice of the Holy Spirit. In my discernment, my prayer life has also progressed and matured. As kids we pray like kids, but as adults we pray like adults. Whereas in my early years of discernment, I would focus more on the emotions within the prayers, in these latter years I have focused more on the presence of God.
Joshua Muñoz, from Holy Family Church in Dale City, attends St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington.
Which Gospel passage best describes God’s call to you, and why? The Gospel passage that best describes God’s call to me is Luke 14:33: “Whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” Whenever I read this, I feel a desire to leave everything behind to follow Christ and be his disciple.
What are you most looking forward to about seminary? I am really looking forward to discerning my vocation more and being in this fraternity of individuals who are also discerning their vocation and who help each other along the way.
John Murphy, from St. Rita Church in Alexandria, attends St. John Paul II Seminary.
How old were you when you first started sensing a call to the priesthood? I was on a middle school retreat and I remember very clearly being in adoration with the Blessed Sacrament, while many others had left, pleading with God to answer a question, “What do you want me to be?” After a few minutes, I got a response, “Be a priest.”
If you could have been any person who interacted with Jesus while He was on earth, who would it be and why? St. John the Beloved. I just want to have his courage to stand at the foot of the cross and remember to always be close to Our Lady.
Peyton Olszewski, from St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Clifton, attends Mount St. Mary’s Seminary.
What are you most looking forward to about seminary? I’m looking forward to the spiritual aspect of seminary. I have a tendency to try to do too much, which regularly negatively impacts my prayer life. I look forward to taking advantage of the required times for prayer, hopefully making significant improvements in my prayer life. Devoting myself to prayer will be such a blessing in searching for vocational clarity.
What is your favorite quote? “In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33).
Aaron Zanca, from the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria, is doing a pastoral year at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Winchester.
Which Gospel passage best describes God’s call to you, and why? “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk 9:62). Jesus was speaking of men that feared the consequences of following Him. I feel called to live the radical message of the Gospel together with the pilgrim people of God. Since I have felt called, I have not looked back with shame, but rather (looked forward) with hope in the providence of God and all He has done for me. His will be done.
If you could have been any person who interacted with Jesus while He was on earth, who would it be and why? St. John the beloved, he had such a profound and special relationship with the Lord. He interacted with the fullness of revelation and all his wisdom. He came to know and love God, the word Incarnate. I only wish to achieve in this life such delights as having walked side by side in friendship with the Good Shepherd.
