The Journey - the beginning

         With the approach of the school year I have been thinking back to the beginning of my journey toward priesthood as I entered the seminary program for the Diocese of Greensburg.  Remember that this was a long time ago, in another age of the Church and in a different world.  I entered in my High School years (those that did so are called "lifers" - four years of High School, four of undergraduate college work and four of theological studies).   I entered at the ripe old age of thirteen way back in the Fall of 1961 - 61 years ago this Fall.

     I always wanted to be a priest.  From my earliest years family would tell me that that was my goal.  I was encouraged by the Religious Sisters who taught me, supported by my family and friends and inspired by our parish priests, in particular two who served us during my grade school years - our pastor Father Charles Kobylarz and one of our assistants, Father (later Bishop) Norbert Gaughan.  Father Charles was a young pastor, personable, and a good leader and Father Norbert was smart and a great preacher.   At my first Mass I acknowledged Father Charles as my inspiration.

     During my eighth-grade year I took the entrance exam with a few other boys from my class from Saint Joseph Parish School at Greensburg Central Catholic High School.  Having been accepted in the program, I remember attending a "gathering of the new class of students for the program" at Immaculate Conception Parish in Irwin (twelve years later I would serve there as an Associate Pastor).  Father Len Sanesi, the vocation director and Associate Pastor at IC at the time, arranged our meeting with Bishop William Connare.  One thing I remember about that meeting was the bishop saying (statistically) that we will be lucky to have one ordained from the group of about twenty-one young men.  We actually had two ordained priests: myself and another who was ordained later and subsequently resigned active ministry; and we would have two ordained as Deacons (one in California and the other, Deacon Bill Hisker, ministering in our own Diocese). 

     All of this led to our acceptance for the Diocese in the seminary program of formation that would begin at Saint Vincent Archabbey Preparatory School in Latrobe.  It was the beginning of an experience that I will share a little more with you the next post.  All of that began sixty-one years ago this Fall.