Celibacy is not unnatural; rather, it is a supernatural calling from God. If God calls and you have the appropriate disposition and nature to receive that call, He will help you along the way. Celibacy allows the priest to remain unmarried, so as to give his life freely and full-time to the building of the Kingdom of God. It is a great gift, that at this point you need to have the desire for, but it’s okay if you have some anxiety surrounding how you’ll be able to do this. God can accomplish much more than we think we are capable of when we surrender to Him.

As St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, “Grace builds on nature”. A natural desire for fatherhood actually makes you even more qualified for the priesthood. All men are called to spiritual fatherhood in one way or another. Some are called to be spiritual fathers through biological fatherhood. Others are called to be spiritual fathers through the ministerial priesthood without having biological children. And some men are invited into spiritual fatherhood by giving life to others through the vocation of the holy single life or as a religious brother. So, this beautiful desire that God has given you can be fulfilled in each state of life, in a variety of ways. If you live out this desire through your proper calling, you can and will find true joy.

Appropriate emotional intimacy with others is essential for a priest to be able to maintain. That means for a young man who is discerning priesthood, working on having close relationships with others is a very important aspect of his formation. Emotional intimacy does NOT mean sexual intimacy or emotional dependency, and proper boundaries in these relationships are what make them healthy and supportive. Solid friendships with both men (other priests and single or married men alike) and women are what continue to sustain a priest throughout his life-long ministry. We want to see evidence that you are capable of this and desire it as you enter seminary.

If you are currently in a relationship but thinking about the seminary, that’s okay. However, at some point you’ll need to discern whether taking a break from dating is a step that is necessary to help determine whether or not the call to seminary is strong enough to pursue fully. Dating helps you to affirm a calling to marry a particular person after discerning a call to marriage, in the same way that going to seminary or entering the first year of formation would help you affirm a call to the priesthood. We may recommend a respite period prior to entering seminary if you were in a relationship within the few years prior to contacting the Vocations Office.

If you feel called to enter now, but as you go through your formation in seminary that call is clarified and you realize that you are no longer called, thank God for that! Most men who have entered seminary and left can attest that their time in the seminary formed and prepared their hearts for the gift of their ultimate vocation. And also that it served to strengthen their primary vocation to holiness.

Getting the right help from a qualified counselor to improve your mental health is an important step on the journey of whole-person healing. You should continue seeing your counselor as long as they recommend. Seeing a counselor does not disqualify you from entering the seminary. You will undergo psychological testing to help your formators better understand how you function. It will also help determine the seriousness of your needs, and whether it is appropriate for you to discern the priesthood at the same time as you undergo counseling. Again, this is an individualized decision and one that would be made down the line of your discernment, with proper transparency involved.

The priesthood can be physically taxing and it is important that we are aware of any health concerns from the beginning. Sometimes health concerns can be an impediment to ordination, but not always. This would all be part of our conversation before admitting a man to seminary.

Yes, we do require a thorough background check as part of the application process. We expect that applicants are seeking to live a moral life and we would discuss any discrepancies at an individual level. If there’s something that would be of concern, we would invite you to be transparent early on.

Holiness is everyone’s universal vocation, and it is a lifelong journey. There is no expectation that you would reach a level of holiness before entering seminary or by the time you are ordained. Your time in seminary is called formation, which will give you tools to help you grow closer to Christ throughout your life as a priest. For now, continue to pray daily and receive the sacraments of penance and the Eucharist regularly.

Praise God! God is deeply at work in your soul. Sometimes conversion spurs a deep desire to give one’s whole life to Christ in the vocation of priesthood. But we encourage you to take some time after your initiation into the Faith to let God’s life breathe in you, and to get used to life as a Catholic. The recommended time is 2 years to wait, but every situation is different.

We can work with you in each situation, if your call is authentic. The priesthood does involve schooling and intellectual formation. It is important that you can nourish both well-educated and under-educated people in your ministry, and do so respectably. However, if you have a true desire to learn and grow in this realm, becoming a priest is not out of the question. Trust that God will provide!