Rev. Mr. John Brusa III

Home Parish: Holy Family, Fairmount
I grew up in Solvay, NY and I am the oldest of five.  Growing up, my childhood dream was to become a broadcast meteorologist. Ever since I was in middle school I wanted to study the weather and be the weatherman on TV. But God had other plans for me. And it all began to change when I encountered Ven. Fulton Sheen in high school.  

Somewhere on social media I came across a quote from him. Curious as to who he was, I looked up his Wikipedia page, read about his life, and even began to watch his old TV show Life is Worth Living on YouTube. I was deeply moved by Fulton Sheen’s life. I couldn’t help but say to myself, “Wouldn’t it be awesome to save as many souls as he did?”.  

A few weeks later, the dominoes began to fall. I attended a priestly ordination on a whim, and after I graduated from high school I found myself going to daily Mass. That summer I also attended a Steubenville Youth Conference and walked away from it with an intense desire to become a priest.

I ended up taking classes at SUNY Oswego for a year before transferring to the college seminary in Queens, NY. While there I took classes at St. John’s University. Currently I attend Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in beautiful Emmitsburg, MD. The seminary there is absolutely wonderful, and the rich history of the surrounding area never ceases to disappoint.