Wednesday - 05/22/2013

Arlan Parenteau
Age: 41
Hometown: Sherwood Park
Program: Bachelor of Theology
Year: Fifth

While some students went to school for reading, writing and arithmetic, Arlan Parenteau was there for the social life. He was more into sports and the dating game.

He was a keen entrepreneur even at the age of eight when he had his first paper route. Years later and after several career changes, he started his own moving company. All he wanted in life was to make some money, so he could have a car, some cool music and a girlfriend.

"I just wanted to have fun."

Although God was always a part of Parenteau's life, he wasn't baptized until he was 24. After Baptism, it seemed the next step was the priesthood. People told him he'd make a good priest, but he dismissed it as conversation.

"I just wanted to be a Catholic," he said. "I love the Lord, but I didn't want to go gung-ho on this."

He recalls befriending a Grey Nun, who like many had seen a vocation in Parenteau. But he was waiting for a sign. While driving from Ottawa one summer, in prayer, he asked if God wanted him to be a priest.

Then the vision came. He looked up at the sky and saw an image of a nun. He didn't know who she was, but she was as clear as day. He later found out she was St. Marguerite d'Youville, foundress of the Grey Nuns. "That was my sign."

His friends were shaken by his decision to enter the seminary; after all, he was the party guy.

"I just dive right in and go for it," he said of his studies. "Whatever happens happens. I just want to serve God."

Ikenna Ejinaka
Age: 24
Hometown: Southeast Nigeria
Program: Master of Divinity
Year: First

Until last summer, Ikenna Ejinaka was studying in a Nigerian seminary run by the Claretian Missionaries. However, Ejinaka's uncle lives in Edmonton and is a member of St. Theresa's Parish. His uncle was seen on several occasions speaking with archdiocesan vocations director, Father Sylvain Casavant. The rest is history.

"(Casavant) called me and asked me questions about religious life," said Ejinaka, who arrived in Edmonton in November and started his studies in January.

One deciding factor in Ejinaka's decision to come to Edmonton was the number of seminarians here compared to that of his own country. "The biggest seminary in Nigeria has about 1,000 (seminarians)," he said. "There was 110, 120 at the Claretians. They had about 10 here, not very many."

The priesthood has long been on Ejinaka's mind. As a child he was interested in various vocations, but the priesthood always stood at the top of the list.

Ejinaka joined the Claretians after high school. He travelled throughout Nigeria doing missionary work and in between completed his bachelor of arts in philosophy.

"What attracted me was the ministry," he said of religious life. "The way of life, priestly life.

"I look forward to becoming what I came here for."

Jason Goertzen
Age: 19
Hometown: Lacombe
Program: Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy
Year: First

Jason Goertzen had an on again off again relationship with the priesthood. When he was at Our Lady of Victory Camp, his spirits were high and he would think about it. When he left camp and went back to everyday life, the idea wasn't a priority.

"I remember seeing Father Sylvain (Casavant) holding up the Eucharist at camp (during Mass) and I'd say 'I want to do that,' but then I'd turn around and say 'No, no, no.'"

After high school, Goertzen spent a year in France and then was preparing to study at Christ the King Seminary in Mission, B.C. He wasn't keen about moving to another province, so he was relieved to learn he could take his philosophy degree at Concordia University College instead.

Goertzen is one of the youngest residents at St. Joseph's Seminary. It's a new experience for him living with men so diverse in background and age.

"I marvel at that . . . somebody my age could get along with someone my dad's age," he said of the age differences among the seminarians.

Though he's only been at St. Joe's for a few months, he's already figured out what he likes about being there - "the constant access to all things spiritual, the Mass, Eucharist, priests."

His family has been supportive of his decision and for the most part, so have his friends. However, a few wonder why he's throwing his life away. "I'm taking this as I go along. It's still new. Trusting that everything will be alright even if I'm not going to be a priest."

Jan Sobkowicz
Hometown: Poland
Program: Bachelor of Theology
Year: Third

Jan is currently on his pastoral internship at Sacred Heart Church in Red Deer. He could not be reached for comment.

Jim Corrigan
Age: 43
Hometown: Fort Saskatchewan
Program: Bachelor of Theology
Year: Second

"Part of being a recovering alcoholic is to be honest," Corrigan said. "I don't try to hide my past. I tell people if they ask me."

Corrigan was always on the party scene. He drank and he dated. He's been married and divorced. When he was in the darkest hole of his life amongst the drinking and partying, he sought a way out. He found comfort in God.

He quit drinking in 1993.

At 38, he had ended a relationship with a women whom he loved, but knew he couldn't marry. He turned to God and asked, "What do you want from me God?"

To which his mother responded, "Maybe God is chasing you." At that moment he broke down and cried. He went to see his parish priest who suggested a religious vocation, which shocked Corrigan a little.

"It was the whole worthiness thing. I never saw God wanting a guy like me wearing a collar."

He got involved with the Oblate mission team, where one priest said to him, "You know Jim, I'm hiring."

"These words were very profound," said Corrigan, who entered St. Joseph's in 1999.

The former pipe fitter and project manager, Corrigan said in the seminary he went from living alone to being a part of a community of men. He went from being a boss "to being a peon.

"It doesn't matter where you come from, we're all the same, no one is better than the other. It's part of the humility."

When he came to Newman Theological College, he discovered a passion for theology, but at the same time he also wanted to have his "cake and eat it too. I wanted to study theology, live in my house and have a girlfriend."

His conclusion: "I believe the Lord wants me here."

Paul Kavanagh
Age: 27
Hometown: Sherwood Park
Program: Master of Divinity
Year: Fourth

Paul Kavanagh is a people person. He likes interacting with people. So at the age of 10, when he saw the kind of interaction his parish priest had with parishioners, he started thinking about a religious life.

He competed his bachelor of theology at Christ the King Seminary in Mission, B.C. He has a year left at Newman and "I just want to be done with it, but then I think it's too soon."

When Kavanagh first told his parents of his interest in the priesthood, he was young and they neither discouraged nor encouraged him. His family has been supportive and his friends didn't say much either way. But as Kavanagh nears the end of his studies, friends are excited at the prospect that he may be able to marry them or baptize their children.

"I think it's starting to hit them, I'm getting closer to (priesthood)."

The role of a parish priest has changed over the years, said Kavanagh. No longer are they simply there for sacramental celebrations; they are administrators and counsellors. He found this out first hand when he completed his pastoral internship at Christ - King Parish in Stettler. He also refers to his time in Stettler as the highlight of his seminary years.

"I learned so much. You don't realize that what you hear in the classroom is not the same when you get into the parish.

"The best thing about (being a seminarian) is understanding my faith better."

Kavanagh hasn't been without his doubts with regards to the priesthood. "There's been times when I thought 'Is this for me?' Incidents when people leave the seminary in the middle of the night and you don't know where they are," he said with a smile. "I'm always discerning. In a vocation, you're always discerning. I've seen a lot of people come and go and I don't get too much into why they leave or why they stay.

"I know this is where I want to be."

David Onofrychuk
Age: 21
Hometown: Edmonton
Program: Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy
Year: First

Spending two years on the National Evangelization Team (NET) helped David Onofrychuk better understand his vocation. Travelling through Canada and the United States with the team, he met numerous priests and religious and returned home talking about his religious calling.

Onofrychuk's faith was nurtured in a Catholic family and through the experiences he had accompanying his mother to charismatic prayer meetings and healing Masses. The charismatic appeal and music, two of Onofrychuk's loves, were also part of NET. He is majoring in philosophy and minoring in music at Concordia University College.

Joselito Cantal
Age: 36
Hometown: Antipolo City, Philippines
Program: Bachelor of Theology
Year: Fifth

People's skepticism towards priests is not new to Joselito Cantal. "Priests are always wrong. If they have a nice car, people say they spend too much money, if they don't have a nice car, people say they do not (manage) their money properly."

Having spent five years at St. Joseph's and in Church communities, Cantal is well aware that many priests are judged harshly.

"I learned in theology that this is real life. The seminary is not a manufacturing of priests. It is a discernment. It is not a holy place, it is a purification.

"Priests and (parishioners), we are all the same. We journey together, even though we are called to different vocations."

Cantal was a mechanical engineer in the Philippines and Brunei before coming to Canada in 1995 to earn money to send home to his mother and four siblings. A year later he entered the seminary.

When he asked his mother for permission to enter the seminary, she was hesitant. She needed his financial support. But she has since become his greatest backer.

Affectionately known as JoJo, Cantal always has a smile and a warm youthful greeting for everyone. The secret of his cheeriness is the balance of "my humanity and my spiritual life. It's easier to minister to other people if you're human."

"I'm looking forward to my ordination and working in the Edmonton Archdiocese . . . God willing."

Kelly Cordon
Age: 38
Hometown: Sylvan Lake
Program: Bachelor of Theology
Year: First

The only reason Kelly Cordon thought he couldn't be a priest was because of his shy quiet nature. He was active in his parish, but left the public speaking to others.

Twelve years after a priest mentioned the idea of priesthood to him, Cordon gave it some thought. He got involved in the live-in movement and attended a vocations day at St. Joseph's Seminary.

His interest began to build. He came to vocations day the next year and took theology courses in Red Deer. In 1999, he came to Newman College for summer school.

He continued working in his contracting business and put the idea of the priesthood on the backburner until spring 2000. But the encouragement of his friends got him to fill out the application forms.

"I had been thinking about it and they said 'Kelly, you have to do this. You can't just sit and wonder about it. Give it a try.'"

When Cordon graduated from the architecture technology program at Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in 1982, his goal was to make money, build his own house and start a family.

But as the years went by, those goals began to fall away. His family was surprised by his decision to enter St. Joseph's because "they thought it was just talk." But the talk has moved to discernment.

"I couldn't have seen myself doing this 10 years ago. This is my first year, my year to discern."

Michael Mireau
Age: 28
Hometown: Edmonton
Program: Master of Divinity
Year: Fourth

When he grew up, Micheal Mireau was going to be one of four things - a fireman, a magician, a scientist or a priest.

He completed a master's degree in mathematical physics and he thought it was God's plan for him to be a rocket scientist.

Then he spent four years as the spiritual director at Camp Encounter. The idea of a religious calling began to move in and out of focus in Mireau's life, until one day it became clear enough that he applied to enter the seminary.

"My commitment to the priesthood has grown . . . but to be sure you'll be a priest, you'll never be sure. We're never sure until our actual ordination."

There probably isn't a stereotypical image of what a seminarian looks like, but if there was one, Mireau wouldn't fit that picture. The colour of his beard matches his shoulder length hair, which is usually tied in a ponytail and covered by a beanie hat. His khakis, T-shirt, wool socks and sandals give the image of a university student.

But this image makes him less intimidating to youth. To the youngsters, he tries to portray his vocation as a blessing, something many young people are not fully aware of. From what Mireau hears from students, "You can tell that priests are separate from them, the Church is separate from their lives."

Mireau's image of a priest is a healthy one. He doesn't put them on a pedestal.

"I don't think it's healthy to hold a priest above others." And this is the same image he wants the youth to see in their priests.

"Being in love with God and being in love with the people of God - that's what it all comes down to," Mireau said.

Luis Casteneda
Age: 38
Hometown: Mexico City
Program: Bachelor of Theology
Year: First

Luis Casteneda is outgoing and has impeccable manners. He's a good dresser with his spotless, wrinkle-free red sweater vest and clean pressed striking white shirt, accessorized by royal blue cufflinks. While he came from a wealthy prestigious family, Casteneda is not a spoiled rich kid.

"From my father, who was a general, I learned to be a man. He was always willing to do a job; he was never too high to do anything. Everyone was equal in his eyes.

"He taught us that work and life was a service. To me, priesthood is the perfect example of service. What would be better than serving God?" Casteneda's father emphasized education and the need to be self-sufficient.

"That's why I learned to cook for myself and do housework. (Money) was a responsibility to administer correctly and not to keep to yourself. (My father) said only have what you need, the rest is for God." Casteneda studied architecture in Mexico City, but decided there is more to life than building highrises and making money.

He worked as a pastry chef, in college theatre, with a TV production company, designing furniture and as a tour guide. During the latter job, he learned a lot about Our Lady of Guadalupe. He came to Edmonton in the fall of 1999 on vacation and ended up giving almost 50 talks on Our Lady. He also met Archbishop Thomas Collins, who asked him what his long-term goal was.

Casteneda chose to enter the seminary here rather than in his home country because there are 600 diocesan seminarians in Mexico City and less than a dozen here.

At St. Joseph's, Casteneda knew he was home when he saw the image of Our Lady in the seminarians' chapel.