Meet Seminarian Bruce Sander

When Bruce Sander reflects on the path that brought him to Conception Seminary College in Missouri, there is a recurring theme — fraternity. Indeed, it is the many close connections that Bruce has formed over the years — with fellow altar servers, priests and, now, seminarian classmates — that give him the courage to continue seeking God’s will for his life.

Growing up a parishioner of Holy Family Cathedral, Bruce was drawn to serving on the altar early on. He became an altar server at age 10 and continued into adulthood.

“I got the altar server award when I was 18, and that is the age you typically stop serving,” he says. “But I continued. I had taken a leadership role in my teenage years, and one thing that was important was that I had really good fraternity with the other altar servers.”

In addition to the close friendships Bruce enjoyed with his fellow altar servers, he had also found a role model in Msgr. Gier.

“Msgr. Gier was my priest mentor,” Bruce says. “He is the priest I want to emulate, and the one I think of when I think about the priesthood. His homilies are one reason, but also his personality. He just has that unnamable quality where he can bring people together from all different backgrounds.”

When Bruce was 18, he went on a series of seminary trips. He met Robert Williams (now a seminarian) and Fr. Robert Duck (now a priest serving in Stillwater). Once more, Bruce was inspired by meeting these fellow men of faith. However, he didn’t immediately discern a call to seminary. Instead, he went to community college, earning an associate degree in business administration.

Grieving the loss of his mother to colon cancer in 2012, Bruce experienced a renewed reliance on his faith. He discovered his mother’s set of books on the Liturgy of the Hours, which brought consistency and structure to his prayer life. He returned to serving and being active in parish life at Holy Family. In 2016, he was asked to serve at the installation Mass for Bishop Konderla. God’s hand was in it all.

“Who did I happen to run into after the Mass but Robert Duck!” Bruce says. “I hadn’t seen him in about eight years. I had trained him as an altar server, and we had a lot of great times on the seminary trips. I call these moments ‘Holy Spirit moments.’ I felt that spirit of discernment come alive in me again. It was something I had been procrastinating on, but this gave me the courage to reach out to Fr. Pratt and start the application process for seminary.”

Bruce’s decision was further solidified when he made a pilgrimage to Rome for Fr. Duck’s ordination to the transitional diaconate and when he attended an ACTS retreat in Stillwater. Now in his third year of seminarian studies, he knows without a doubt that — whether he discerns a vocation to the priesthood or one to single or family life — he is exactly where God wants him to be right now.

“Seminary is really a period of discernment,” Bruce says. “Whatever I do at the end of this, I’ll be better for it — I’ll be a better witness to the Gospel. If you go to seminary and don’t become ordained, it’s a win for the Church as well, because you’ll be a stronger Catholic leader in your community due to all the formation and education you’ve received. After two years of formation, my discernment of a vocation to the priesthood has definitely strengthened.”

Once again, a sense of fraternity has played a strong role in Bruce’s spiritual growth. He points to the friendships of the seminarians at Conception Seminary as a highlight of his time there.

“I would trust these guys with my life,” he says.

God willing he is ordained a diocesan priest, Bruce would hold a special place in his heart for hospital and prison ministry, inspired by the servant heart of his godmother, Mary Jo Dixon, and the many good works she performed before her passing in 2020. And with all the wonderful priests he has gotten to know over the years, Bruce will have many great examples to follow.

“It’s very important to have a priest mentor,” he says. “Someone you have a good relationship with that you can turn to when seminary is getting rough. Someone you can see yourself emulating and that makes you think, ‘I could live that life he is living.’ Having a parish that supports vocations and establishing a connection with guys that are already seminarians is also important.”

Reflecting on his path to seminary, Bruce is thankful for the fraternity of the many mentors and brothers in the faith who have helped him along the way. He also extends his gratitude to everyone at Holy Family Cathedral for their unwavering support.

“The parishioners have always been supportive,” he says. “I would be altar serving and they would say, ‘Have you thought about being a priest?’ It was just a gentle and consistent encouragement over the years. I miss them and always enjoy seeing them during my break, and I thank them for all their prayers and support. I’m praying for them every day.”

Seminarian Bruce Sander