If Vince Fiore had any doubts that he was being called to the priesthood, they ended when he saw Pope John Paul at World Youth Day in 2002.
The Sault Ste. Marie man attended a papal mass at Downsview Park, in Toronto’s north end. An estimated 800,000 people were there, but the St. Mary’s College graduate felt the Holy Father directed his homily straight at his heart.
“Do not be afraid to follow Christ on the royal road of the cross,” he said.
That’s all Fiore needed to hear.
“I thought, ‘All right, no more hesitating. I’m going to go for it,’” he said.
“Now here I am.”
Jean-Louis Plouffe, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie, will ordain Fiore on Friday at St. Gregory’s Catholic church.
Fiore, 35, is the first Sault man to be ordained in more than a decade.
“It is my way of saying, ‘I love you, Jesus. I am totally yours,’” said Fiore.
“Becoming a priest is an expression of my love for the one who spared nothing by laying down his own life for love of me.”
You can read the rest here. There have also been several stories of men contacting seminaries and diocese in the wake of Pope Benedict’s visit here.
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“There have also been several stories of men contacting seminaries and diocese in the wake of Pope Benedict’s visit here.”
Welcome news! Thanks, Jeff!
Let’s pray this story is replicated many times over following the recent visit of the Holy Father! God bless! Padre Steve
One article described the rising interest in priestly vocations in New York as a tsunami following the visit of B16:
http://www.doxaweb.com/blog/2008/04/vocations-to-priesthood-signs-of-hope.htm
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