Grapevine the St. Francis
December 2017
St. Francis Seminarians: Answering God's CalL For the first time in our history, St. Francis is blessed to have not only one, but two, young men studying to become priests for the Diocese of Fort Worth. Here they tell us in their own words how their upbringing and our parish community has strengthened their resolve to answer God's call. My name is Austin Evans and I am in my first year of formation at St. Joseph’s Seminary College.
My name is Reed Proctor and I am a first-year Fort Worth Seminarian studying and being formed at Saint Joseph's Seminary College in Covington, Louisiana. I entered right after graduating from high school, so I am a true freshman.
I was born in Grapevine into a loving family of my one brother and my parents who raised the two of us Catholic. I have been in Catholic schools my whole life: I attended St. Francis' I am the fourth of six parish school, Holy Trinity, from pre-K through children and I grew up as a 8th grade and went to high school at Nolan Catholic on the Mississippi Catholic in Fort Worth. My family has been Gulf Coast. My parents parishioners at St. Francis for as long as I can have always been very remember. Throughout my childhood, my faith devout Catholics and made AUSTIN EVANS was important to me and I enjoyed my Catholic sure we made it to Mass education, but in my early teen years, I started to every Sunday, even when I get lost in the distractions and misplaced values would be out of town for a soccer tournament, which was of the world. I still had the desire for love and for almost every weekend. I have always been very close with holiness, but I didn't know how to achieve and my siblings. The oldest four, including myself, all went to satisfy this desire. I entered the Confirmation Mississippi State University and lived together for the two program at St. Francis unsure of what it had to years I was there. offer, but it was actually exactly what I needed I had always wanted to be a priest, since elementary school, but to make a profound turn back to God. Through it fell by the wayside once I got into high school. While I was the help of my family, studying at Mississippi State, I didn’t feel like I was fulfilling friends, and the what God was calling me to do and was reminded how much community of St. I wanted to be a priest growing up, so I started thinking Francis, I was about joining the seminary. My second year at MSU, my able to discover parents moved to Flower Mound, Texas. While I was visiting the love of God at Christmas, I really felt the need to go to a discernment which calls us meeting. Bishop Olson spoke at that meeting and, through his to greatness words, I heard God calling me to go to the seminary. I started through service. the application process right after and was accepted a few months later. I started my first semester this Fall. Continued REED PROCTOR on page 5... Continued on the back cover... A NEWSLETTER OF ST FRANCIS CATHOLIC CHURCH • 861 WILDWOOD LN, GRAPEVINE TX • SFATX.ORG