Office of Vocations

Flyer for the 2026 Quo Vadis Discernment Retreat, now June 28–July 1 at Priest Field Pastoral Center, WV. Includes info for middle and high school boys, and photos of clergy and the outdoor center.

ARE YOU CALLED TO SOMETHING GREATER?

Am I Being Called to Be A Priest?

A man in clerical clothing sits alone in a church pew with his head bowed and hands clasped in prayer, surrounded by rows of empty wooden benches. The world needs priests. It needs strong, faithful, courageous men willing to die to themselves for the sake of Christ’s Bride, the Church. It also needs men who want to conform themselves to Christ, who can proclaim his Word and dispense his mercy in the darkest corners of the culture.

To be precise, a man only “knows” he is called when he is ordained! However, there are many positive signs that can point to a vocation, and which can help a man make the decision to enter the seminary and continue along the path towards the priesthood.

Quick Discernment Tool:

Now that you are here and no one is watching or listening, read these statements to yourself, take them to prayer, then act on what you know is right. God knows, you may be called to the priesthood!

A personal relationship with Jesus Christ is important to me.
People have told me I would make a good priest.
I’ve hidden vocation material under my bed and in my desk.
Going to Mass and Adoration is a very important part of my faith life.
The thought of becoming a priest keeps coming back over and over again.
I’m afraid to tell my friends and family that I’ve been thinking about the priesthood.
I feel called to give more of myself to others.
After hearing the readings at Mass I think about how I would preach.
I have a burning desire to help people get closer to Christ and to know the Truth.
I have a strong sense that what I have planned for the future is not what God has planned for me.

If some of these statements reflect how you feel, if your heart is pounding even harder, if you sense a greater desire to find out if God is calling you to live in black and white, get in touch with the Vocation Director. Have no fear, the Lord wants only what is best for you – and so do we.

SEMINARIANS

Pontifical College Josephinum (7625 N High Street, Columbus, OH 43235)

A young man with short dark hair and a full beard smiles at the camera. He is wearing a black suit, white shirt, and black tie with a small pin on his lapel. The background is a soft, blurred gradient.

Donvito Cortese

Fourth College

Birthday: August 30

A young man with short blond hair and a light beard, wearing a black suit, white shirt, and black tie, smiles at the camera against a neutral blue-gray background.

David Hensler

First Philosophy

Birthday: July 29

A young man with short blond hair and glasses, wearing a black clerical suit with a white collar, poses against a neutral gray-blue background.

Timothy Kawash

Second Theology

Birthday: July 22

A young person with light brown hair, wearing glasses, a black suit, white shirt, and black tie, stands in front of a blue and gray gradient background, smiling slightly. A colorful pin is on their suit lapel.

Sebastian Lasko

Second College

Birthday: September 18

Mount St. Mary’s Seminary (16300 Old Emmitsburg Road, Emmitsburg, MD 21727)

A man with short hair, glasses, and a trimmed beard, wearing a black clerical suit with a white collar and a pin, smiles at the camera in front of a soft blue background.

Michael Aiello

Third Theology

Birthday: September 16

A young man with short hair, glasses, and a beard wears a black suit, white shirt, and black tie, posing against a blue-gray studio background. He has a slight smile and a small pin on his lapel.

Andrew Dean

First Philosophy

Birthday: November 14

A man with short dark hair and glasses, dressed in a black clerical suit with a white clerical collar, smiles softly in a formal portrait against a blue and cloudy background.

Nathan Schmidt

Second Theology

Birthday: January 20

Pope St. John Paul II Seminary (145 Taylor Street NE, Washington, DC 20017)

A young man with short dark hair wearing a black suit, white shirt, and black tie smiles at the camera against a softly blurred blue and gray background.

Dominick Beckman

Propaedeutic Year

Birthday: December 10

A young man with light brown hair, glasses, and a short beard is wearing a black suit, white shirt, and dark tie, posing for a formal portrait against a gray background.

Thomas Lough

Propaedeutic Year

Birthday: July 23

A young man with short brown hair and glasses, wearing a black suit, white shirt, and black tie, smiles at the camera against a soft blue and gray studio background.

Christopher Nelson

Second College

Birthday: December 4

Pontifical North American College

(00120 Vatican City State Europe)

A young man with short hair and glasses, wearing a black clergy suit and Roman collar, smiles at the camera against a gray-blue gradient background.

Joseph Derico

First Theology

Birthday: February 16

A smiling man wearing a black clerical suit with a white collar and a religious pin on his lapel poses in front of a neutral background.

Michael J. Tupta

Second Theology

Birthday: April 24

Pastoral Assignment

A man with short brown hair and glasses is wearing a black clerical suit with a white clerical collar, smiling at the camera against a softly blurred blue and gray background.

Clifton Mastran

Birthday: May 1
St. Joseph the Worker
229 California Ave.
Weirton, WV 26062

A young man wearing a black clerical suit and white collar poses in front of a gradient blue and gray background, smiling slightly at the camera.

Bryan Tedeschi

Birthday: October 17
St. Vincent de Paul
67 Liberty St.
Berkeley Springs, WV 25411

VOCATIONS INQUIRY

CONTACT THE OFFICE OF VOCATIONS

Office of Vocations (1311 Byron Street, P.O. Box 230, Wheeling, WV 26003)

A man with short gray hair, wearing a black clerical suit with a white collar, smiles at the camera against a soft blue and gray background.

Fr. John Soplinski

Director of Vocations

A woman with long curly dark hair smiles at the camera. She is wearing a floral-patterned blouse and is posed in front of a blue and gray studio background.

Jacqueline Mercer

Assistant to the Director of Vocations

RESOURCES

Click here to download the pdf

A group of lay Catholics, men and women of all ages and backgrounds, called Serrans, are dedicated to promote and foster vocations. The USA Council is part of Serra International. In the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston we have three formal Serra Clubs around the state: Wheeling (click here for more info), Charleston (click here for more info), and Clarksburg (contact the Clarksburg Vicariate Vicar Forane, Father Casey Mahone, of Immaculate Conception Parish, at 304-622-8243 for more information).

Serra Prayer for Vocations
O God, Who wills not the death of a sinner, but rather that he be converted and live, grant we beseech You through the intercession of the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, Saint Joseph, her spouse, Saint Junipero Serra, and all the saints, an increase of laborers for your Church, fellow laborers with Christ to spend and consume themselves for souls, through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever. Amen.