Liam Dale

2022-23: College Junior 
St. Pius X Seminary, Loras College, Dubuque, IA

Hello to all who might be reading this. I'm Liam Dale, a seminarian for the Des Moines Diocese, and a parishioner at Sacred Heart parish in West Des Moines. I like to spend my free time outside whether it is hiking, kayaking, or maybe even birdwatching. When I am not outside you might find me deep into a book or striking up a conversation with someone new. You might have seen me before serving as a Eucharistic Minister, trying to sell you rosaries to fund a mission trip with the youth ministry, or asking if you want baked or fried fish at the parish fish fries.

When I found God, I wasn't aware that I had been looking for him. Rather I had been shown him through experiences with people who had made him a central part of their lives. The people he worked through had a certain kindness present. This kindness was the type of kindness that was unceasingly patient, gentle in the way it came across, and firmly grounded in the belief in God. By following those examples of kindness, I was able see Christ where I hadn't before; the people in my day to day life. Christ is present in each and every one of us. Once that knowledge was obtained my desire to serve people grew exponentially leading to my openness to wherever God is calling me in my life. My desire to enter the seminary started on the parish mission trip to Oklahoma. There I was given two examples of how the seminary can impact a man, a thoughtful parish priest and a loving father of three. Both of these men told me of their experience in seminary and how it made them into the men they are today. After months of deliberation, I made the decision just after Christmas to contact our Vocations Director about my potential call to the seminary. I look forward to getting to know my brother seminarians, learning more about the church, and shining the same kindness that led me here onto the people I'll meet in the coming years.