Nine young men entered seminary this year for the diocese, bringing the total number to 43 in formation for the priesthood.
The nine will be split between the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus and Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology in Cincinnati. Five will study at the Cincinnati seminary and four will study in Columbus.
The class is a mixture of men entering seminary from high school, post-college and the workforce.
The nine will begin the propaedeutic stage of seminary, which can last between one to three years. It is a time of discernment as the men transition to seminary. Preparation is largely focused on human and spiritual formation rather than academics.
This year’s cohort includes Benjamin Arnold from Columbus St. Leo the Great Oratory, Aron Aziz from Westerville St. Paul the Apostle, Joshua Dulin from West Jefferson Ss. Simon and Jude, Liam Hughes from Johnstown Church of the Ascension, Quang Nguyen from Columbus Holy Family, Nicholas Schmelzer from Lancaster St. Bernadette, Charles Schoenlaub from Junction City St. Patrick, Dylan Shoemaker from New Albany Church of the Resurrection and Andrew Smith from Scioto County St. John Paul II parish.
Schmelzer, 18, recently graduated after being homeschooled through high school. His favorite class was religion. He said the priesthood “was something in the back of my head pretty much all throughout my life.
“There are a few times when I was like, well, if I didn’t become a priest maybe I’d become an engineer or a firefighter. Later on, though, I just decided that I know I didn’t want to go to college because a lot of different types of work just seem kind of repetitive.”
Schmelzer will study at the Josephinum this fall.
He attended multiple Quo Vadis discernment retreats at the Josephinum and attended live-ins to experience seminary life. He was also involved in the Melchizedek Project at his parish, which gives young men an opportunity to discern the priesthood, and he was an altar server at St. Bernadette.
“Then I met Father (Ty) Tomson,” he said of the former St. Bernadette pastor currently studying in Rome. “He was different than a lot of the priests. He had a biretta (a square headpiece with three peaks). He wore a cassock (a long garment worn by clergy). It just looked cool and different.
“He was alive. That’s really what sold it to me.”
Hughes, 25, is entering seminary after graduating with a business degree from Franciscan University of Steubenville and spending three years as a missionary at Damascus Catholic Mission Campus in Knox County.
A desire to discover where God is leading him resulted in applying for seminary. Hughes said he is excited to discover if the priesthood is that path.
His time serving as a missionary at Damascus helped guide him in the decision.
“One thing that I really appreciated about my time there was, there was a deep emphasis on the radical call of Christianity, and that helps me realize that life with Jesus is the best thing that I could live for,” he said. “If that means the priesthood, great. If that means something else, that’s also great, but it’s worth exploring.”
Arnold, 18, will begin seminary at the Josephinum this fall after graduating from high school. He was homeschooled all the way through.
Arnold said he began discerning the priesthood around age 15.
“It just was kind of like silent, just kind of an attraction to that,” he explained. “I had a friend who was very influential in that decision. He was a lot like me – a homeschooling friend – and I was like, well, he’s doing it. He’s a normal guy. Certainly I should be able to.”
Like Schmelzer, Arnold attended several Quo Vadis retreats at the Josephinum, seminary live-ins and participated in the Melchizedek Project to discern.
“I ended up getting a spiritual director and started discerning a little bit more seriously and just continued to feel more drawn to it as time went on,” he said. “And then, eventually, I got to a point where I was like, I can’t discern anymore outside of seminary. I’ve got to join or at least apply.”
Aziz, 29, will begin formation at Mount St. Mary’s this fall after working for several years after college.
He spent the past four years at St. Paul the Apostle, his home parish, working in the office as an assistant to the director of evangelization and then as a parish business analyst. He also assisted with the liturgy and the Knights of the Holy Temple altar serving program.
“The draw to a desire for a priestly vocation has continued to remain steady and to grow during that time,” he said, “and so, this year, decided to pursue that further – to pursue that time of discernment further – and see where the Lord is taking me with it.”
Aziz graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2018 with a bachelor’s and master’s in computer science. He previously served as a missionary with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students and spent time discerning a vocation with Dominican friars.
He was also involved in the Catholic Worldview Fellowship, a study abroad program for college students focused on forming Catholic leaders. Aziz participated in the program his last summer of college and has served on staff during summers.
“That was definitely sort of a catalyst experience for me in understanding the role of evangelization and the life of the Church, really, as the mission and vocation proper to the Church as a whole,” he said.
“It’s been a great source of just continuing to energize and cultivate that apostolic zeal and that sense of being driven for the mission of the Church and also the intellectual life.”
Another seminarian who began his studies at the Josephinum in February is Kevin Negaga, 25, originally from Kenya who came to the United States to serve as a priest in the Columbus diocese. He has an uncle who resides in the area.
He looks forward to continuing priestly formation – something he had desired for years.
“My discernment began when I was a little boy, still in Kenya,” he explained. “I used to work with my pastor. We were so close together, and I got attracted to being a religious, being a priest and getting to serve people.
“The idea of priesthood that I had in mind back in the day was a missionary priest, someone who (goes) far away from home and lives with new people, new culture.”
Negaga began his propaedeutic formation at the Avila Institute, which offers online courses in spiritual theology, formation and direction.
Since coming to the diocese, he described his first months at the Josephinum as a “phenomenal experience,” noting profound spiritual direction and fraternity among seminarians.
He completed his propaedeutic stage this summer. Negaga met several diocesan priests and learned their stories.
“It was kind of a formative experience for me, especially as I continue discerning this path to priesthood, and priesthood not in my home country but in a foreign land, as a missionary from Kenya,” he said, “and I hope to continue growing in my prayer life and my spiritual journey and God helps me to become a priest, not for myself but for His people.”