Viatorian Community Welcomes its Newest Novice

The Viatorian Community welcomed with joy its newest novice, Br. Ryan McMahon, on Aug. 1. The service took place at Maternity BVM Parish in Bourbonnais, where he is living during his year in the Novitiate, which is a year of discernment steeped in academics, spirituality and community life. “I never really thought about religious life during high school,” Br. Ryan said in a podcast interview, “but the seed

was planted at Saint Viator High School. This is where I feel at home, this is the place I’m called to be.” Br. Ryan is a 2016 graduate of Saint Viator High School and a 2020 graduate of the University of Michigan. He has remained in touch with the Viatorians since high school, attending the Viatorian Youth Congress and participating on the Young Adult Advisory Board, among some of his experiences. At Michigan, Br. Ryan majored in neuroscience with a dream of going to medical school. However, as he thought more about a vocation to the religious life, he realized the two were connected. “At the root of both was the desire to heal, help and be a part of someone’s life journey,” he says. “Reflecting on that led me organically to look more closely at religious life.” The novitiate service was steeped in tradition, using prayers and responses that have been spoken by every recent novice — in this country and in Colombia — for years. “We surround him today with our support, our prayers and our hopes for his personal and spiritual growth,” said Fr. Daniel Hall, CSV, Provincial, “in understanding and in discernment of the call which God may be offering him.” Fr. Hall described the ceremony as uplifting and positive for the entire Viatorian Community. “It’s a sign of growth,” he said. “We’re walking with him and he’s walking with us during this novitiate year.” The prayer service drew Br. Ryan’s parents, Jim and Diane, as well as his siblings and Viatorian professed and associates from the Bourbonnais/Kankakee region. At the conclusion of the service, Br. Ryan signed his commitment to dedicating the next year to immersing himself in community life by living out the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Fr. Patrick Render, CSV, will serve as his Novice Master by overseeing Br. Ryan’s studies in pastoral, spiritual and academic areas. He sees the novitiate year as an opportunity for Br. Ryan to deepen his own spirituality and relationship with God, become familiar with the role of Scripture -- and his own ability to use it in prayer and in ministry. “Welcoming a novice into the Congregation and into the Viatorian Community brings forth a lot of good will and hope among our members,” Fr. Render says. “It is a reassuring sign that God is still calling people into our way of being and of serving the people of the world.”

Br. Ryan McMahon, with Fr. Daniel Hall, Provincial, left, and Fr. Patrick Render, Novice Director, right.

Fr. Hall asks Br. McMahon if he is ready to commit to a year of discernment. The McMahon family, from left to right: Kevin, Colleen, Br. Ryan, Jimmy, Diane and Jim