THE FIRST FIVE YEARS

Father Sean Wilson Reflects on His First Years as a Priest

BY KARY ELLEN BERGER

Several versus in the Bible allude to whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. For Father Sean Wilson, his dedication to prayer and faith led to his priestly ordination five years ago.

Father Wilson noted that becoming a priest started as an idea, slowly becoming a reality over time. “I knew in high school [that I might want to be a priest] and I gradually began to take my faith more seriously,” Father Wilson said. “I got interested in the Church and what our Lord has continued to do.”

Father Wilson grew up in Vandalia and attended Emmanuel Catholic Church in Dayton. During his senior year at Butler High School, Father Wilson took a step that drew him closer to his fatih. “For Lent that year, I began praying the Rosary every day as a Lenten practice,” he said. “After Easter came, I kept praying the Rosary every day. That came with me to college and I think Mary kept working on me.”

After graduating high school, Father Wilson attended the University of Dayton for a year before switching to Bishop Simon Brute College Seminary where he graduated in 2011. His next stop was Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology in Cincinnati. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2016.

Father Wilson’s first assignment was parochial vicar to the Petersburg Pastoral Region, which includes the parishes of Immaculate Conception, Botkins; St. John, Fryburg; St. Lawrence, Rhine; and St. Joseph, Wapakoneta. In 2018, he was named the pastor of the region.

There are tough days. There are beautiful days, but in all of them, we simply get to be His servant. And that’s enough.