Matthew Leeds Diocese
“The Almighty has done great things for me. Holy is His Name”. These words of our Mother Mary in her song of praise after the Annunciation whilst visiting her cousin Elizabeth, have been central to my journey towards priesthood ever since I went on pilgrimage to Lourdes with the school in 1992 at the age of 16.
Although I had wished to be a priest for as long as I could remember (my mother when asked when she knew I had a vocation to the priesthood responded that I was 6 years old) it was the six days spent helping the sick and elderly, speaking to priests, spending many hours in prayer at the Grotto, that awakened within me the meaning and significance of this desire. The example of Mary, of her saying “Yes” to the will of God, has been a source of encouragement and strength throughout the many years of discernment and formation.
These years included my completing my A-level studies in Huddersfield and then reading theology at Birmingham University. The contact I had with the chaplaincy enable me to explore my faith and my vocation in an environment with other young people guided by two excellent chaplains was invaluable, including the opportunity to attend daily mass and begin to recite the Liturgy of the Hours.
In January 1995 I was given the opportunity to attend the World Youth Day in the Philippines. The two weeks I spent in various places in this country, meeting with young people from all over the world to discuss and share our faith was yet another confirmation to me of God’s call to serve him and his church as a priest. The experience of another culture, a local church and at the same time the universality of the Church left a deep and lasting impression on my faith and experience of Church.
The support of the diocesan vocations director and other diocesan priests enabled me to discern what the Holy Spirit was helping me to discern. Although I knew God was calling me I was unsure of how I should respond. So I spent time with a missionary order of priests working in Thailand. During these months it became clearer that I was being called to the Diocesan Priesthood in my home country and local Church of Leeds. My burning desire to preach God’s saving love was being directed to the mission in England and Wales.
The period before entering the seminary in 1999 I worked with The Simon Community in London helping the street homeless of our nation’s capital. Finally, during the formal process of applying to the diocese I worked in a parish. The six months in south Leeds gave me an invaluable experience first hand of the mission of the priest in today’s world.
Almost six years in the seminary have been ones of self discovery, development and a profound deepening of my relationship with the Lord and through the academic studies of our Faith. They have been good years, and a real privilege to have been asked to study in Rome. As the day approaches of my ordination (July 30 th) I am conscious of God’s presence and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. These are exciting times with many challenges ahead but with the grace of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of Mary I am very excited at the prospect.
Michael Fitzsimons
On a recent pilgrimage to Lourdes a group of friends gave me a t-shirt for a joke. They had printed on it the message ‘I never wanted to be a priest, I just wanted to travel!’ They were alluding to the fact that during my time in seminary I have been very fortunate to have spent time in a number of different countries including Russia, the USA, Sweden and Northern Ireland.
In reality though, all vocations are stories of travel and journeying. The starting point of my personal journey was that I was very happy and content with my life. I was working with an organisation working with homeless people, I genuinely enjoyed my work and the pay wasn’t too bad either. I had my own home and car and was considered to be doing alright by most people’s standards. I was active in my parish being involved in the music ministry, youth work, RCIA and justice and peace initiatives. Yet there was a growing sense that I could be doing something different and this grew into an awareness that maybe I had a vocation to the priesthood. Having done my best to ignore and resist this for some time, I eventually found myself talking it through with friends and priests and in due cause I found myself coming to the seminary.
When starting a journey we often think we know where it will end or the direction we will take and still there are days when I sometimes stop and think what have I done and question whether I am on the right path. My time in seminary has been a journey of surprises, new turns and encounters, and these have challenged, excited and energised me. The last five years have continued the exploration of my vocation and I am now preparing for the next stage of my journey when I will be ordained deacon this summer