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Eager to get in the game

Katie Collins | Catholic Herald

Kevin J. Dansereau

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For 25 years, Kevin J. Dansereau was a self-proclaimed
Sunday-only Catholic who stood on the sidelines of faith. But
when the sports fan placed prayer at the center of his life,
God led him into the thick of His’ work.

Dansereau will be ordained a deacon May 31 by Arlington
Bishop Paul S. Loverde at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in
Arlington and, if all goes well, he will become a priest next
spring.

Born in Falls Church Sept. 1, 1981, Dansereau is the youngest
of four children of James and Judy Dansereau. Judy retired
last June from her job in the Office of Vocations, a position
that exposed her youngest to many priests. He respected them,
he said, but what motivated them was then a mystery to him.

Dansereau grew up in Burke, attended Lake Braddock Secondary
School, and graduated in 2004 from James Madison University
in Harrisonburg with a bachelor’s degree in technical and
scientific communication.

Following graduation, he attended a life-changing Cursillo
retreat, and it inspired him to make prayer his compass and
pointed to the basic purpose of life – to become a saint.
“That refocuses this life,” said Dansereau.

His challenge was how to refocus.

Drawn to service, he became a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger,
West Africa, in 2005. However, when he discovered he was
required to teach contraception, he knew immediately he must
withdraw.

Back in the Unites States, Dansereau felt a call to work in
special education, and he enrolled in a master’s program. In
a culture that worships worldly achievement, Dansereau said
he wanted students “to know God loves you for who you are not
what you do.”

He came to realize that what he really wanted was not to
teach but to bring Christ to the kids.

“The greatest gift I’ve received was the faith,” he said.
“The biggest thing I could do for my students was to pray and
pass along the faith to them.”

Then came the “last straw,” said Dansereau.

A lover of sports, Dansereau initially perceived priests as
not very athletic. After meeting Catholic athletes and
sport-loving seminarians, he realized how wrong he was.

“The Lord calls people from any walk of life,” he said.

Dansereau entered Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg,
Md., in 2009. The seminary often feels like a team, he said,
but on this team, “everyone wants the best for you and makes
Christ the center of their life.”

“The Lord has used everything in my life to prepare me for
this,” said Dansereau. “I’m looking forward to getting in the
game.”

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