Jonathan Hoole

Home Parish: Mary, Mother of Our Savior, Utica
While I was in high school there were a lot of different career choices I was thinking about. It was hard for me to really narrow it down. I thought law was fascinating, so I wanted to be a lawyer. Flying planes seems so amazing, maybe I want to be a pilot. Or maybe I want to be a teacher and share my love for history with others. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do until my junior year of high school.

During my junior year I decided to teach Confirmation classes for my parish at Our Lady of Lourdes. I loved it! I felt that being someone who is close in age to these confirmands helped me connect to them and where they were in their faith life. I decided that year when I graduated high school I would major in Adolescent Education and emphasize in history to become a high school history teacher!

After I had graduated my senior year of high school, I went on a retreat called Notre Dame Vision at Notre Dame University. It was a week-long retreat that I had been to before, each time it felt more and more amazing to me! Well, I don’t know what happened but this year something really touched me. I went back home changed by it. I was on fire with God’s love.

I still wanted to teach but maybe be a brother. Father Dennis Walker was there at the time as a seminarian, so I had asked him about being a priest and how it differs from being a brother. I also asked my amazing pastor Father Joe Salerno about priesthood, what it’s about and where do I go to pursue it if I am called. After talking with him along with many meetings with the Fisherman’s Club with Father Jason Hage and Father Nathan Brooks, I decided that I wanted to be a priest during my first year of undergraduate!

I would apply to seminary the start of my second year in undergraduate, now I am here studying in seminary! It has been an amazing journey so far. Between the retreats, meeting so many priests, discerners, and seminarians it has been a life changing experience I have been graced with.

The amount of people, saints, and priests I can thank in my story is countless. I would like to thank everyone for helping me discern especially my parents, brother, my pastor Father Joe Salerno, Mark Ranieri, everyone who is/was a part of the Fisherman’s Club, and most of all God for inspiring and answering my prayers to be more like Jesus Christ every day!

“Be God’s Love!”