The annual Seminarian Bike Tour made a stop at Delaware St. Mary School on Tuesday, May 14. Eleven diocesan seminarians rode down from their first destination – Marion St. Mary School – and spoke with students in various classrooms about vocations.

The tour continued south on Wednesday with stops at Dublin St. Brigid of Kildare School and Columbus Bishop Watterson High School. On Thursday, the seminarians biked to Columbus St. Francis DeSales High School and Columbus Immaculate Conception School. 

Seminarians discussed three main vocations – the priesthood, religious life and marriage – with students. Several also shared stories of how God called them to the priesthood.

At Delaware St. Mary, Deacon Joey Rolwing, who was recently ordained to the transitional diaconate, Justin Fagge and Nick Love visited the seventh-grade science class. They discussed with students the importance of discovering God’s individual call for their lives.

“The God of the universe from all eternity has known you personally and created you for a particular reason, ultimately because He wants you to experience incredible joy and fulfillment and adventure and love, and He’s known the path that He has walked out for you for all eternity,” Deacon Rolwing told students.

“Now, it’s up to each one of us to figure out what that is and then pursue it so that we can reach the fulfillment He has created us for.”

Seminarians (from left) Kennedy Ofezu, Zack Goodchild and Luke Eschmeyer talk vocations with students in the fifth-grade physical education class as Deacon Sam Severance (right) listens.

Love, 25, shared with students how he discovered a possible vocation to the priesthood.

“The seed was planted when I started altar serving in fourth grade,” he said. “That was a big part of my vocation.”

After attending college for a couple of years and then working, Love said, he lacked the relationship with God that he was called to.

“I wanted to build my relationship with God again and reestablish myself, so I started praying a lot more,” he said. “Going to Holy Hour was a huge thing and praying the rosary, and I made that a routine weekly.

“It wasn’t that I wanted to enter into seminary. I just wanted to build that relationship. And over a year, I found myself calling the priests who I talked to in high school, and it was about time for me to enter seminary.”

Seventh-grader Liz Bender enjoyed hearing the seminarians’ vocations stories.

Liz Bender, 13, a St. Mary seventh-grade student, said she enjoyed having seminarians visit her class.

“I thought it was really cool how they came to the different classrooms to speak to all of the kids about the vocations, so that they can get thinking about what their vocation is when they get older,” she said.

Seminarians Michael Rhatican, Mark Jewett, Ben Van Buren and Shane Gerrity visited the eighth-grade American history class. Rhatican offered students practical ways to discern their vocation.

Seminarian Michael Rhatican hands a shirt to a first grader at St. Mary School.

“It’s important for us to separate some time out of each day to pray to God and to listen to His voice because if we don’t know what that is, if we don’t know what God’s will for our lives is, then we have no direction,” he said. “We’re just existing really; we’re not living to the full.

“Maybe, before bed, take five or 10 minutes and sit by your bedside. Maybe read the Scriptures. That’s how we get to know Jesus Christ. … If we get to know Jesus, we get to know our vocations.”

In the first-grade classroom, Rhatican shared his vocation story. He told students that God’s call for him to the priesthood was similar to God’s call to the prophet Samuel.

In the Bible, recorded in 1 Samuel, God called Samuel’s name several times. Samuel mistakenly thought he was hearing Eli, the priest. 

After the third call, Eli told Samuel, if he hears the voice again, to respond, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

Delaware St. Mary School first-grader Anthony Heinlen said the seminarians' visit was fun.

Anthony Heinlen, 8, a first-grade student, appreciated having seminarians visit his classroom. 

“It was fun,” he said.

Heinlen said he enjoyed “the story Michael told us” and “how God spoke to him and he thought it was someone else.”

Seminarians Zack Goodchild, Luke Eschmeyer, Kennedy Ofezu and Deacon Sam Severance, who was recently ordained to the transitional diaconate, visited the fifth-grade physical education class. After discussing vocations, they joined students for some tennis.

Fifth grader Zachary Bender (holding tennis ball) chats with seminarian Zack Goodchild during the seminarians’ visit to a Delaware St. Mary School physical education class on Tuesday, May 14.

Fifth-grade student Zachary Bender, 12, developed a new understanding of the priesthood. After spending time with seminarians on the court, he thinks differently of priests.

“I used to think they’re boring people reading books, but now, since they’re playing around, they’re having a lot of fun,” he said.

“I first thought of becoming a priest when I was very young. I thought it would be boring, sitting there starting Mass, but now, I think it might be what Jesus is calling me to do.”