Tell us a little bit about you personally: Where are you from, your home parish, what’s your family like, etc.

I am a Cincinnatian at heart, born and raised in Anderson Township. I was baptized at Immaculate Heart of Mary parish and grew up as a parishioner at St. Rose of Lima parish while attending St. Ursula Villa for grade school and St. Xavier for high school.   I have been blessed with an amazing family of loving parents and three sisters. My family experiences made the vocation of marriage a very attractive option for me.  I graduated from Northeastern University and spent a couple of years as a college campus missionary at Florida State University before returning home to Cincinnati.

When did you first begin to discern your calling to the priesthood?

As a child, the thought of entering seminary was not really on my mind.  I remember experiencing great intimacy from altar serving when the opportunity arose around third grade.  I enjoyed assisting at school Mass as I appreciated being able to assist the priest as well as the intimacy of being close to the altar for consecration.  As neat as the experience was, I soon became more enamored in junior high with the prospect of serving in the military or working in the aviation field. This was also accompanied by a strong desire to get married.  My parents set a tremendous example through their marriage and the family they raised which made the notion of foregoing marriage a tough idea to fathom.  This desire for marriage and a family of my own soon surmounted my desire to serve in the military which did not seem the most conducive for raising the family I wanted to have.

Rather than pursue a career in the military, I enrolled in college and majored in marketing and supply chain management at Northeastern University in Boston.  Nonetheless, the best way to make God laugh is to tell him your plans and expect that to be a forgone conclusion. The Lord has been persistent with me through the love and mercy He has shared with me.  My vocation story has been a long one with many twists and turns.  One of those turns occurred while at Northeastern University.  It was there I met a small religious group, the Brotherhood of Hope, that ran the campus Catholic Center.  They assisted me in having a deeper conversion and thinking more intentionally about where God might be calling me in life.  I soon became more convicted to know God’s specific calling for my life rather than continue to follow my natural inclinations.  I remember not wanting to wake up one day after getting married and having children only to have the lingering unanswered question rolling around my head, “Is this truly what the Lord called me to or is this solely my will?”  The lack of peace from having this question plagued me and led me to enroll at Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary wanting to give God the time and space needed to guide me to the vocation He wanted for my life.  The time in the seminary has given me the clear answer to my initial question, leading me to my priestly vocation.

Who has been a mentor for you along the way?

Many priests have been the unsung heroes to my vocation, more than can be named here. Some include my childhood pastor Father Barry Windholtz, Father David Sunberg, my spiritual director prior to and throughout seminary, my formation director Father David Endres, Father Tom McQuillen, Father Tom King, Father Ben O’Cinnsealaigh, Father Paul MacNeil, Father Pat Stenson, Father Chris Komoroski, Monsignor Frank Lane, Father Mark Bredestege, Father Jacob Willig, Father Michael Willig, my internship pastor Father Jerry Hiland, Father Adam Puntel, and Father Daniel Corso.

What are you looking forward to most about being a priest?

To see how the Lord uses me in this vocation that He has called me to: drawing others closer to the Lord while also being pulled ever closer as well, and living the adventure the Lord has in store for me.

Do you have any particular favorite devotions or prayers?

The Litany of Humility and the Litany of Trust.

What’s a hobby or activity you enjoy?

Aviation and traveling. Ever since a little child I have been in love with aviation. If I was not called to the priesthood I would love to work in the aviation field. My fascination with aviation is still alive as I love flying on airplanes, the bigger the better.

Anything else you’d like to share with the faithful of our archdiocese?

Please pray for me and my fellow ordinandi brothers for our priesthood. I want to live this call faithfully to bear much fruit for the Kingdom. My ultimate goal is to be welcomed into the eternal heavenly banquet feast with the Blessed Trinity.