What was your background before you joined the CC?
Although growing up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, I had wanted to be a veterinarian, I ended up going into the field of Statistics, taking courses at university in Mathematics, Computer Science, and Economics. I moved to Ottawa to work for the government at Statistics Canada, but decided that I didn’t want to spend my life doing that.
I asked God what he wanted me to do: Work where? Stay single? Get married? Marry whom? Become a deacon? Become a priest? A little spark regarding priesthood came to light. I dedicated that Lent to a serious discernment of this, and came to the conclusion that God was calling me to the priesthood. Moreover, I felt God was calling me to religious life as opposed to the diocesan priesthood. I started enquiring and visited some places.
What led you to join this community?
My home parish was St. John the Apostle, and, among other things, I attended the youth prayer meeting there. It was at this time that Father Bob had become pastor of St. Mary’s Parish, and Paul Atkinson and Chris Keyes had moved in with him to help with duties around the parish. Paul and Chris also attended the prayer meeting. When I mentioned my call to priesthood, Paul mentioned that he and some other young men interested in the priesthood were meeting weekly with Father Bob at St. Mary’s. So I went. And did something very uncharacteristic of me. I asked to move in. It ‘fit’. It was ‘home’.
What kind of ministry are you doing now?
I became a priest with the Companions of the Cross and served in several parishes. I had always loved books, and was asked to go to Rome to study THE book, the Bible. I studied Sacred Scripture in Rome and Jerusalem and taught courses back in Ottawa. At present, I currently serve the Community as Treasurer General.