The Catholic Chronicle asked priests, deacons, brothers and sisters when they first felt the call to their religious vocations. The response to those serving the diocese was overwhelming. In addition to these recollections, read more in the January 4, 2008, print issue of the Catholic Chronicle.
Notre Dame Sister Joyce Marie Bates
My first thought of a possible call to religious life was when I was in the seventh grade. Being the oldest child in my family, I always looked up to (and played with) my cousin, Linda, who is four years older than I. She had entered the convent, and it was on a visiting day with her that the thought of myself becoming a sister suddenly came to me. So again, I was looking up to her and desiring to imitate her.
As I entered high school at Notre Dame Academy, I continued to think about this possible call. I would pray about it, talk to the sisters who taught me, and attend the “Come and See” days at the convent. As I moved into my senior year in high school, I was very seriously considering entering the convent after high school to give it a try. I didn’t want to get married and then look back and wonder if I should have become a sister. So I thought by trying religious life first, I could leave after giving it a try for six months and then get married and have the children I always wanted. I can remember the day at school when I stopped in the chapel for a short prayer during my lunch break. I asked Jesus what I should do. I felt a very strong feeling that I should enter the Sisters of Notre Dame, and I felt overcome with a tremendous peace with the decision.
I did give it a six-month try and was happy, so I stayed and am still an SND today — 35 years of vowed life!
Father Ronald Brickner, Fremont St. Joseph High School chaplain
I remember second grade and our first holy Communion … Msgr. [Leo] Griffin was the pastor and he was all decked out in his red before the Mass started. At the homily, he asked the question — ‘How many of you young girls want to be sisters when you grow up?’ and then ‘How many of you young boys want to be priests when you grow up?’ Being trained by the good Sisters of Notre Dame, we were taught to always answer the pastor respectfully. So, when the girls were asked the question — almost all their hands were raised. Likewise, almost all the boys raised their hands. Why I remember this, I am not sure but somehow a seed was planted … I didn’t respond much to this calling until later in life, but the seed was there and I am grateful to those who nurtured me along through the years. I only became serious about responding late in college, but the memories of those younger years remained with me and I am most grateful to God and to all who have been a part of my life journey.
Precious Blood Father Harold Brown, Glandorf St. John
As a fifth-grade altar server I thought of becoming a priest. The desire grew and grew as I watched the priest offer the Mass. I told my parents and other relatives of my desire (all of whom were fully delighted and supportive). Although very young, I entered Brunnerdale High School Seminary as a ninth-grader. I never looked back, nor did I need to go on any date with a girl. My target was the priesthood all the way!
If anyone would ask me whether I would choose the priesthood if I should start anew after these 48 years, I would definitely give a loud, ‘Yes, by all means!’
Ursuline Sister Janice Ann Brown
In third grade, I wanted to be just like my teacher, Sister Annunciata. To me, she was the nicest person, so kind, gentle, loving — and holy. From fourth grade through high school, I would go to her room after school and do things for her — work on bulletin boards, and as I got older, grade papers. I remember her sitting at her desk, praying her office. That was a time for me to cut the radio and allow her quiet time. I would sneak a glance as I sat grading papers. To me, she glowed with holiness!
I entered the Ursulines in 1964, and have tried to serve God and His people following the example of my idol, Ursuline Sister Annunciata Dell.
Notre Dame Sister Mary Marc Burgard
I was in second grade when I first thought of becoming a sister. I had an older sister in the convent. She was very happy. I wanted to be like her and work for Jesus by serving other people. At age 7, I made my first holy Communion. When Jesus came into my heart, I asked Him to help me become a sister. I carried that ideal in my heart all through grade school. When I was in eighth grade, I asked my parents if I could become a sister.
I made vows in 1961 and I experience happiness daily.
Conventual Franciscan Brother Angelo Catania, Carey Our Lady of Consolation
My earliest reflection on the call for a vocation happened when I was in the seventh grade. Then, in the eighth grade, a friend of mine joined the Conventual Franciscans, based at Mount St. Francis in southern Indiana, from my home parish of All Saints in Chicago. Since we were from the same parish he had given me some literature about the Conventual Franciscans. After reading about the friars, their mission and talking with my parish priest, religious sisters from my grade school and my family, I decided to join the Franciscans.
I was accepted into the minor seminary at Mount St. Francis, Ind., as a freshman in September of 1957 … [I] made my first profession of vows in July 1963. Now it has been over 44 years since that day and I still truly believe in what I am doing.
Notre Dame Sister Angela Marie Fortman
I was in the eighth grade when I first felt the calling to follow Jesus. I asked my mother and she said, “No, not at this time, but you can ask again later.” In my junior year of high school I asked again. Since my first asking I had dated boys and I liked them, but always felt empty after being with them. At this second asking my mother said I had to ask my dad. I did and he said, ‘Yes.’ I visited various convents but fell in love with Notre Dame. That love has never diminished, but instead has grown. Our Lady has been so good to me over my many years in Notre Dame.
Notre Dame Sister Joanne Mary Frania
It was after a Christmas dance my senior year in high school that I was suddenly hit with the realization that, even though we had fun at the dance, there was something missing; there had to be something more. So, I guess it was that feeling that moved me to talk to a couple sister friends and pray about it before mentioning it to my parents, which I knew would not be easy. Even though it was initially difficult for them, I know that over the years Mom and Dad were happy as they met more and more of my friends in community and were happy about the sequence of events in my life. My parents, in a sense, felt part of the Notre Dame “family” and appreciated the sisters’ support and love.
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Deacon Greg Kirk, Galion St. Joseph
I grew up in the turbulent and often violent 1960s. I was in the fifth grade the first time I felt a call to ministry, it was on the evening that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination was announced on the news. Dr. King served Christ through his advocacy for the marginalized and his embodiment of love for one’s enemies. His example of remaining steadfast and rooted in non-violence made Christ present and alive to me, even as a boy. The news of Dr. King’s death galvanized a desire within me to respond to Christ by seeking to love and serve others in my own small way, as he had in a large and national way.
Sylvania Franciscan Sister Gervase Lochotzki
At the age of 8, when I received Jesus on my first Communion day, He inspired me to become a missionary. I mentioned it to my family after Mass, and I then kept the idea buried deep with my heart and swept it “under the rug” hidden from others’ views. Later, at the age of 12, in our social studies class, our teacher, a Franciscan sister, talked about missionaries in foreign lands. I couldn’t wait to get home to tell my Mom I wanted to be a missionary. As she continued ironing clothes, she said, ‘That’s nice.’ She was not enthralled about the idea. After all, which mother in her right mind would want her oldest daughter to go to a foreign land after grade school. In eighth grade I removed the “rug” and began to discuss the fact that I was going to enter the Sylvania Franciscan order. At that time, my Dad confided in me that he had been praying all these years that I would become a sister.
Tiffin Franciscan Sister Diane Hay
I remember feeling a call to my vocation when I started school at St. Sebastian School in Bismark, Ohio. My first and second grade teacher was Sister Jovita Morman, a Franciscan from Tiffin. She was so kind and loving. Going to school was something I looked forward to because of her. I remember going home one day and telling Mom and Dad I wanted ‘to be just like Sr. Jovita when I grow up.’ I don’t recall any exceptional things that happened between that day and when I left for the convent (which, by the way, was right out of eighth grade), but I do know that God planted the seed of my vocation at that young age by using my teacher and then giving me a wonderful family who nurtured it. I couldn’t be happier!
Sylvania Franciscan Sister Rosamond Jasinski
As a senior at Central Catholic High, Toledo, I felt drawn to the life I saw the Sylvania Franciscan Sisters witnessing to: prayer in the chapel, concern for people, excellent teaching, fun at sports and other events and kindness to one another. I responded to this feeling by praying and reflecting. The priest who taught senior religion was my mentor in discernment. A visit to the Sylvania Franciscan campus made me feel at home with these joyful, dedicated Franciscans. God calls, gifts and sends us in whatever vocation we are called to. We, in turn, need to pray, to serve and to be energized by the support of family and friends, our religious community and God’s people.
Ursuline Sister Rita Mae Johns
I believe that I owe my religious vocation to a very special Ursuline Sister, Sister Katie Cullen (Sister Catherine Therese), who was my sixth-grade teacher. In January that year, Sister explained to us that she was going to be gone for a week to make a retreat to prepare for her final vows. As she explained to us the promises she would make, I knew that God was calling me to be a sister as well. Although I was only 11 years old, my conviction that a religious vocation was God’s plan for my life never changed after knowing Sister Katie.
Tiffin Franciscan Sister Charlotte Kessler
When I was in the eighth grade, one Sunday morning after Mass in Carey my father, mother and I were in the car ready to leave, when my mother saw two Tiffin Franciscans coming down the sidewalk, and she said, ‘Dad, don’t go yet. Here come the sisters. Wait till they pass. Don’t they look like angels!’ What an impression that made on me, Mom’s deep reverence for sisters, and then and there I decided I wanted to be a sister … Now at age 97, I just celebrated my 80th jubilee as a sister, and I still love it, thanks be to God and the inspiration and encouragement of my parents.
Sister Lalithya Kurien, Sister of the Imitation of Christ
When I was 5 years old, I had a chance to see two nuns and I was attracted to their way of behavior and religious dress and it really struck my heart.
Secondly, I have had a habit of reading the Bible daily from my childhood onwards, and some of the words always struggled in my heart and I used to reflect and pray on it.
“What profit is there if you gain the whole world — and lose eternal life? What can be compared with the value of eternal life?” (Mt 16:26)
“And any one who gives up his home, brothers, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, or property, to follow me, shall receive a hundred times as much in return and shall have eternal life.” (Mt 19:29)
“Go throughout the whole world and preach the gospel to all mankind.” (Mk 16:15)
Thirdly, my mom’s prayerful life and devotion to Mother Mary. All these things helped me to enter the religious life.
Oblate of St. Francis de Sales Father Tom Landgraff
I felt the first stirrings of a call to be a priest in the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales when I was a sophomore in high school. I really loved the school I attended, the Salesianum in Wilmington, Del., and began to think it would be a good thing to be part of such a school in my adult life. At the time, there were no laypeople involved in the school so I, naturally, began to think in terms of being an Oblate.
I began the practice of saying one Hail Mary each night to know my true vocation and I registered for Latin III, which I never would have done if I had not been thinking about the priesthood. The Blessed Mother did give me some wisdom in choosing the right life for me, and the Second Vatican Council allowed the vernacular at Mass, which was a great gift to me!
Notre Dame Sister Jan Marie Lonsway
Memories of my call are a collage gathered from my elementary school days: creating homemade “habits” and playing school, helping a favorite teacher clean, getting into the convent to help bake Christmas cookies, and asking God (with some apprehension) for definite signs if He really wanted me to become a sister. The mystery, peacefulness, happiness, dedication and humanness I witnessed became the God-magnets that drew me, as a 14-year-old, to begin my journey into religious life.
Sylvania Franciscan Sister M. David Narog
Many years ago, on Sunday, this 4-year-old girl was always the first of the family into the church pew. She watched every move the priest made. She was going to be a priest when she grew up! When she mentioned this at supper one day, her big brother patted her on the head and revealed — ‘Only boys can be priests!’ She was crushed — sympathy followed. The next Sunday at church, the child was at the same pew and smilingly greeted the sisters as they entered the pews across the aisle. During Mass, an idea suddenly struck her: ‘If I can’t be a priest, I’ll be a sister like those over there. They are nice and love Jesus!’
After 60 years, I agree.
Sylvania Franciscan Sister Geraldine Nowak, vocation minister
My first awareness of God’s call to religious life came in the form of resistance. In the seventh and eighth grades, I prayed every day that I would not be a sister. The Sylvania Franciscans at my elementary schools (Nativity and St. Hyacinth in Toledo) were great. They were very happy and human. Certainly I knew the church and world needed sisters but thought, “please God, not me.” It was, however, through my parents’ illness, suffering and death during my high school years at Notre Dame Academy that I continued the resistance and then became aware of priorities in life. I wanted to live a life that was spiritual and non-materialistic. God’s call came through my life events. Following a Franciscan way of life for the past 46 years goes hand in hand with that calling, I’m happy to say.
Notre Dame Sister Tina Petrick
To a curious six-year-old, the family Bible held one big question and my mother held the answer. The family record section had room for six children to be born into the family. We all fit; I was number six. But to my consternation there was only room for five weddings. When asked where she was going to put my wedding my mother simply answered, ‘You are going to be a sister.’ My response: I swore I would marry before my older brother. Yet, the seed of vocation was planted.
Notre Dame Sister Carolyn Marie Schaffer
I remember when I was attending CCD at Peru St. Alphonsus School and the sister teaching in first grade asked who wanted to be a sister. All the girls in the class raised their hand. I thought that was quite surprising and I ran home to tell my mom and she said over the years we can continue to dream about what God wants us to be. When I was in second grade walking down the aisle at St. Alphonsus Church to make my first Communion, I felt a deep joy in knowing that I was going to be a sister. To this day, I still believe God called me on that day and I felt His joy in that middle aisle. Just this fall I reached over to my mom at church at St. Alphonsus and said, ‘What a gift to still see and feel the presence of the call in this church.’
Deacon Norb Wethington, Fremont St. Joseph
The time was April-May 1957. I am an eighth-grader at Queen of Martyrs School in the Dayton suburb of Northridge. It was time to select where I was going to high school. The local public high school was not an option — my father had vetoed it. That left St. Gregory’s Minor Seminary in Cincinnati or Chaminade High School in the downtown.
At breakfast one morning my dad asked me if I had decided where I wanted to attend. I replied that I had not because I was torn between the two. He then reminded me that he had received deposit requests from both schools and he needed to write a check and mail it out that day. So he asked just what my issues were.
I replied I could easily see myself — and would be very comfortable — working for the church but celibacy simply made no sense whatsoever. He smiled and then asked if I had seen the recent issue of our archdiocesan newspaper.
I remember bringing it in the mail but had not looked at it yet. Dad mentioned one important article he wanted me to read. It seems Pope Pius XII had just finished a synod of bishops in Rome.
Like most synods, there was an “open-mike” time where the bishops could say anything on their minds. A number of those bishops in attendance had been incarcerated in Hitler’s concentration camps and spoke very openly that the pastoral situation in those camps would have been immeasurably improved if they would have been allowed to ordain married men to the diaconate.
Pius listened carefully but said nothing until later when he was asked about that whole scene point blank. His answer: “It is a very good idea but the time is not right.”
My dad then looked at me: “Tell you what. I’ll send your deposit to Chaminade and tell St. Greg’s ‘Thanks, but no thanks.’ By the time you will be ready for the married diaconate the married diaconate will be ready for you.”
That is the way it was. Dad died on All Saints Day in 1977, but already knew I was going to be ordained the following August — one month shy of my 35th birthday.
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