Future priests maintain they are ‘just normal guys’

Eighteen men at Holy Spirit Seminary are a part of a growing number of young men turning to the Catholic priesthood at a time when the vocation isn’t the most conventional option.
Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv presided at Mass for the commencement of the seminary academic year on 26 February. Image: Diocese of Parramatta/Alphonsus Fok.

Source: Melissa Yeo, Parramatta Advertiser, 19 March 2017

Matthew Dimian.

This is no ordinary share house. While they still play a lot of Xbox, fight over who cleans the bathrooms and have to roster the washing up, the 18 men at the Holy Spirit Seminary are living together for a higher purpose.

They are a part of a growing number of young men turning to the priesthood at a time when the vocation isn’t the most conventional option.

For 24-year-old Matthew Dimian the decision to join the seminary took time — trying out three degrees in the process — but ultimately was something he had always wanted to do.

“I remember when I was four and I used to tell people that I wanted to be a priest,” he said.

“They would tell me that it was cute, it was very idealistic — similar to saying a firefighter or an astronaut.”

Now all under one roof at the former Kenilworth House in Harris Park, the seminary has many of the same comforts as an ordinary dormitory; shared dining spaces, games and TV room but the lessons taught in their classrooms are more closely linked to the divine.

Over a period of eight years, these men will learn the ins and outs of the Catholic Church and its teaching, alongside degrees of philosophy and theology studied at the University of Notre Dame and the Catholic Institute of Sydney.

Adam Carlow.

For other seminarians, like Adam Carlow, the decision to pursue their faith came a little later in life.

“If you would have told me when I was young that I would grow up to be a priest I would have laughed,” the 27-year-old said.

Both men credit Sydney’s World Youth Day in 2008 as a “spiritual injection” for the city and a catalyst for their decision to take on the vocation.

To read the full story on The Daily Telegraph’s website, click here.

 

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