Each year, Catholic Extension Society supports roughly 400 seminarians in their path to the priesthood. The need for this funding is especially great in poor and under-resourced dioceses that struggle to pay the costs for their future priests to attend seminary. Thanks to our donors, we have provided approximately $4 million in funding this past year for seminarian education to our dioceses across the United States.
This year, nearly 90 seminarians who received our support were ordained to the priesthood.
Below, we highlight four of these priests from Extension dioceses. They share when they first heard God’s call, their experience in seminary and what they are looking forward to now that they are ordained.
Father Charles Deering | Diocese of Birmingham, Alabama
Father Deering grew up in a Catholic family, and early in childhood, felt a strong calling to one day becoming a priest. But once he reached adulthood, he felt he wasn’t cut out for it. Growing up, he would accompany his parents to the adoration chapel at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church; those quiet moments became key for Father Deering to begin surrendering himself to God. Several priests were also instrumental in magnifying his calling to the priesthood.
Through the Diocese of Birmingham, he pursued his vocation at Notre Dame Seminary. In addition to the seminary program requiring its men in formation to become missionaries, Father Deering also learned Spanish to serve the rapidly growing Hispanic population in the mostly rural diocese, where the Catholic population is below 4 percent. He now serves as parochial vicar for Annunciation of the Lord Catholic Church in Decatur, Alabama. Catholic Extension Society supported his seminarian education as he prepared to serve the rural faith communities of the southern diocese.
Look at people who live a life filled with joy and who are able to exude that joy and infect other people with that joy. Identify what is at the center of their life. Nine times out of ten, it’s the Lord.”
Father Seth Hostetler | Diocese of Cheyenne, Wyoming
Father Hostetler grew up in a large family, the youngest of seven children. He likens his vocation to the priesthood to being a “love story” because of the way God captured his heart. It was sitting in Mass at the Air Force Academy where God slowly revealed himself to Father Hostetler and cemented his calling. He became a seminarian through the Diocese of Cheyenne and studied at Mundelein Seminary. After he was ordained, Father Hostetler began his priestly assignment at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Cheyenne. Catholic Extension Society will continue to support him as he pursues his licentiate in sacred theology (STL) degree.
No human being has ever or will ever experience their vocation as just a casual walk down a straight path. There are always crossroads and washouts. … We are called to be the light of the world, no matter what our vocation, and that is the noblest of things.”
Father Gabe Bouck | Diocese of Memphis, Tennessee
Father Bouck was raised in Memphis to a very devout Southern Baptist family and attended Bellevue Baptist Church, where he was active in the youth ministry. He found himself questioning his faith and left the Baptist Church during college and moved further away from religion throughout his 20s. That changed when his sister called him and inspired him to convert to Catholicism. He started Rite of Christian Initiation classes in 2011 and joined the Catholic faith the next year.
He began discerning his vocation and soon felt the call to become a priest. He quit his job in technology and began studying at St. Joseph Seminary College in Louisiana, followed by further education at the National Seminary of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Catholic Extension Society covered Father Bouck’s seminary costs, and after his ordination, he began serving as parochial vicar for St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Memphis.
Memphis is my home. There is no other community like it. … You don’t identify as a Catholic unless you are active in your faith. It’s a small group who makes a big impact. … I love my city, and I want to see more people become Catholic here.”
Father Martin Ma Na Ling | Diocese of Owensboro, Kentucky
Father Ma Na Ling was born and raised in Myanmar (known formerly as Burma). He was invited by Bishop William Medley to enter seminary through the Diocese of Owensboro, Kentucky, so he could minister to the growing Burmese population, many of whom are resettled refugees. Catholic Extension Society supported his seminarian education as an international student at St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana.
During seminary, Father Ma Na Ling earned recognition as a “leader in ministry” for writing an instructional manual for Burmese refugees to learn the Catholic faith. He is the second person from Myanmar to be ordained in the United States. Now as parochial vicar for Holy Spirit Parish in Bowling Green, Kentucky, he uplifts and strengthens faith for all in his community.
Being a priest is for all, not just the Burmese. I would love to share my faith with everybody!”
Photo: Riley Greif, Diocese of Owensboro.
These are the inspiring people who have been chosen by God to serve, and whom we are privileged to support.
You can help to form future priests by supporting seminarian education in Extension dioceses.
