Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend Meet the Seminarians
2023-2024
Deacon Oscar Duarte
4th Year Theology
Home Parish: St. Joseph, Ft. Wayne
Favorite Hobbies: Playing Music (Drums & Guitar)
Favorite Saints: St. Jacinta Marto, St. John Vianney, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Laura Montoya
Favorite Scripture: Philippians 4:13
What Made You Want to Be a Priest? Realizing that God has a much greater plan for my life than the one I had for myself.
Deacon Caleb Kruse
4th Year Theology
Home Parish: St. Vincent de Paul, Ft. Wayne
Favorite Hobbies: Running, Reading, Chess, Instruments
Favorite Saints: St. John the Apostle, St. Philip Neri
Favorite Scripture: John 15:1-17
What Made You Want to Be a Priest? I’ve wanted to be a priest since I was a little kid. As a I grew up, many priests witnessed the joy of their priesthood and taught me how to pray. In prayer, God placed a desire in me to have “God alone as my inheritance” and to give my life away consecrated to the Church. God-willing, I am very excited to serve as one of His priests soon.
Andrew Barnes
3rd Year Theology, Mount St. Mary’s
Home Parish: St. Pius X, Granger
Favorite Hobbies: Golf, Basketball, Euchre
Favorite Saints: St. John Paul II, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. John Bausch
Favorite Scripture: “My Lord and my God!”
What Made You Want to Be a Priest? During my first couple of years of college, when I went to pray, the idea of priesthood would continue to persist in my mind, pushing me towards joining the seminary. Upon entering seminary, I began to come to know the beauty and incredible reality of priesthood. The priest is able to enter into people’s lives daily and directly be a witness of Christ for them. He dies to himself for Christ and His Church, and not only that but is able to offer the greatest sacrifice of Jesus’ Body and Blood to the Father everyday. There seems to be no greater reality than this, and it is humbling to know that God may be calling me to this vocation.
Nicholas Monnin
3rd Year Theology, Pontifical North American College
Home Parish: St. Matthew Cathedral, South Bend
Favorite Hobbies: Basketball, Golf, Jazz Music, Cooking, Learning Foreign Languages
Favorite Saints: St. Joseph, St. Michael the Archangel, and St. Bernard of Clairvaux
Favorite Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30
What Made You Want to Be a Priest? I want to be a priest because my pastor growing up, Msgr. Heintz, showed me the joy of the priesthood and the joy of a life lived for God. Having that great priestly example first started my desire to serve God and the Church as a priest. From there, it was God teaching me to surrender more readily to Him and to His Will, and that has given me great certainty in my decision to work towards priesthood. In growing in my love for God, I’ve seen that I would very much enjoy the life of a priest and that my gifts and talents are well-suited for service as a priest. In short, I want to be a priest because I think I’d be good at it, and I feel that God is calling me to that vocation.
Patrick (PJ) Ernst
2nd Year Theology, Pontifical North American College
Home Parish: St. Pius X, Granger
Favorite Hobbies: Rugby, Skeet Shooting, Singing
Favorite Saints: St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face; St. Augustine; St. Bernard of Clairvaux
Favorite Scripture: Psalm 32:7
What Made You Want to Be a Priest? I would say three things primarily. Meeting both happy and holy priests around the diocese, having people tell me time and again that I should seriously consider going to seminary, and finally, in the quiet of my heart, hearing the Father lovingly invite me to go to seminary.
Johnathan Hickey
2nd Year Theology, Mount St. Mary’s
Home Parish: St. John the Baptist, Ft. Wayne
Favorite Hobbies: Playing Trombone, Sci-Fi Movies, Walking in Nature, Computer Hardware, Playing with Dogs
Favorite Saints: St. Martin of Tours, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and St. John the Baptist
Favorite Scripture: Galatians 4: 4-7
What Made You Want to Be a Priest? I started seriously discerning the priesthood my junior year at Bishop Luers High School. I have had a few experiences during this time of discernment where I felt a peaceful sense of clarity that I should pursue this desire of possibly going to seminary. One of these times took place after my parish’s 2018 Corpus Christi procession and afterwards having adoration. Right after adoration I was given the Eucharist which we were all adoring moments earlier in the monstrance! At that moment I felt a strong desire to do what that priest was doing, giving people Jesus in the Sacraments! This, and other moments like them, made me want to enter seminary.
Noah Isch
2nd Year Theology, Mount St. Mary’s
Home Parish: St. Charles Borromeo, Ft. Wayne
Favorite Hobbies: Watching Colts and Notre Dame Football. I also like to Golf.
Favorite Saints: St. John the Evangelist and St. John Paul II
Favorite Scripture: John 6
What Made You Want to Be a Priest? Serving Mass at St. Charles as well as the beauty I saw in the Mass led me to want to be a priest. The Eucharist was, and has been, a huge part of my discernment.
Samuel Martinez
2nd Year Theology, Mount St. Mary’s
Home Parish: St. Charles Borromeo, Ft. Wayne
Favorite Hobbies: Ice Hockey, Guitar, Baking Bread, Cooking, Nutrition
Favorite Saints: St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Jacinta, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Peregrine, St. Jude, St. Charles Borromeo, St. James the Lesser, and of course the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Favorite Scripture: John 21
What Made You Want to Be a Priest? The realization that with everything God has given me, the best I can do is offer my will back to Him to do with as He wills.
Greenan Sullivan
2nd Year Theology, Mount St. Mary’s
Home Parish: St. Anthony de Padua, South Bend
Favorite Hobbies: Basketball, Fantasy Novels
Favorite Saints: St. Jude and St. Lawrence
Favorite Scripture: 1 Mac. 3:17-19
What Made You Want to Be a Priest? A love for souls.
Michael Hickey
First Year Theology,St. Meinrad
Home Parish: St. John the Baptist, Fort Wayne
Favorite Hobbies: Playing music (bass guitar), target shooting, corgis, sci-fi movies, documentaries, computer hardware, law enforcement
Favorite Saints: St. John Paul II, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Peter, St. Michael, Blessed Stanley Rother, St. Bernardine of Siena
Favorite Scripture: 1 Peter 1:6-9
What Made You Want to Be a Priest? I started to seriously discern the priesthood in high school and college. Two moments of clarity stick out that made me think that I might be called to the priesthood. One moment of clarity was talking with a women who was at a difficult time in her faith and ultimately inviting her to become Catholic. Another moment was praying with a patient during an emergency situation while I was working at the hospital. It was in these moments of clarity that I believe God is calling me to serve Him and His people as a priest.
Mason Bailey
First Year Pre-Theology, St. Meinrad
Home Parish: Most Precious Blood, Fort Wayne
Favorite Hobbies: Traveling, Watching Movies, Telling Stories, Spending Time with Family and Friends
Favorite Saints: St. Peter, St. Anthony of Egypt, St. Maximilian Kolbe
Favorite Scripture: John 3:30
What Made You Want to Be a Priest? A combination of good friends, reading Fulton Sheen’s autobiography “Treasure in Clay,” and conversations with priests and professors. Their combined witness, with the graces of Reconciliation and the Eucharist, set me on a path towards the priesthood. I’ve never been happier.
Thomas Bundy
Propaedeutic Year, Bishop Simon Bruté Seminary
Home Parish: Our Lady of Good Hope, Fort Wayne
Favorite Hobbies: Soccer, Shooting, Ping Pong, Watching Movies, Running
Favorite Saints: St. Francis of Assisi & St. Augustine
Favorite Scripture: John 21: 15-19
What Made You Want to Be a Priest? I have had an attraction to the priesthood from a young age, since my First Communion. Although I did not fully comprehend this until I was older, the call within my heart continued to cultivate and stir within me every time I went to prayer. This attraction was strengthened and confirmed through the examples of holy priests in my life, serving Holy Mass, and time before the Holy Eucharist. Seeing how the priests in my life were able to bring the Lord to others and be a witness to Christ through their lives was enticing to me and aided me in realizing priesthood was something I could see myself doing. Ultimately, I want to be a priest because I have witnessed Christ’s love for me, and I want to enrich souls with that same love from Christ.
Paul Cline
Propaedeutic Year, Bishop Simon Bruté Seminary
Home Parish: St. Matthew Cathedral, South Bend
Favorite Hobbies: I enjoy being active and doing athletic activities, I also enjoy watching movies
Favorite Saints: Mary, St. Paul, St. Augustine, St Maximilian Kolbe, St. Joseph
Favorite Scripture: Colossians 3:23-24
What Made You Want to Be a Priest? God was throwing stones at my window leading me somewhere, and eventually when He had gotten me to a place that I would be receptive to His call, He climbed up the tree and kicked in the window and said “Let’s go we are doing this I want you to join the seminary and discern the priesthood”. I know I am where I am supposed to be right now and I am open to what God’s will is for me in the future.
Stanley Amuchaka
Aspirant, University of Saint Francis
Home Parish: Most Precious Blood, Fort Wayne
Favorite Hobbies: Reading, sports and cooking.
Favorite Saints: St. Augustine
Favorite Scripture: 1 Chronicles 21: 24
What Made You Want to Be a Priest? As a child, the thought evolve seeing the cassocks of priests and seminarian’s around my locality. Their simple lifestyle, accessibility and availability. I have lived my life in devotion and service to the church, and my desire for the priesthood has been sustained by a number of things.
Johnpaul Adizuo
Aspirant, University of Saint Francis
Home Parish: Most Precious Blood, Fort Wayne
Favorite Hobbies: Reading Catholic books
Favorite Saints: St. Pope John Paul II
Favorite Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1 vs 27
What Made You Want to Be a Priest? I want to save souls. I want to partake in the salvific mission of Christ. The Love and the desire I have for the Eucharist and our Blessed Virgin Mary has inspired me to discern the priesthood