Stan Asjes

2023-24: Theology II
St. Paul Seminary, St. Paul, MN

Growing up in a Catholic family, I have always felt a deep love for the Church, in her community, sacraments, and history.  The possibility of the priesthood was always present at home, but up until about my junior year in high school, I never took it very seriously.  I never thought about it much outside of friends occasionally saying that I should be a priest.  At the beginning of high school, the idea kept coming up when I got the chance to pray before the Blessed Sacrament exposed on the altar.  This nudged me in my junior year of high school to seriously consider going into college seminary when I began to think about my future.  The more I read, the more I felt that the priesthood was for me, and the faster my fears and doubts about the subject vanished.  The idea of administering the sacraments, taking on parish life, and being there for people in tough times fills me with joy.  At the end of 2017 I got in touch with Father Ross who helped me apply to St. John Vianney Seminary and figure out what I needed to do in the meantime.

I won't know for sure if I am truly called to be a priest until my ordination, but at the moment I can only trust in God's plan, and take advantage of the excellent formation and education at St. John Vianney.  College seminary is a great opportunity for me to grow as a Catholic person through formation and continued discernment.