Dear Fellow Disciples,

I would like to share with you some recent news about the Office of Vocations and to introduce myself as the new director of vocations.

Since the summer of 2015, Father Daniel Barnett has worn multiple hats at Bishop White Seminary as rector, director of vocations, and director of seminarians. Under his leadership, the seminary went from having only five seminarians from two dioceses to 23 men from eight dioceses. In light of this, Bishop Thomas Daly announced this past August that two additional priests will take on roles once held by Father Barnett. This will allow Father Barnett to invest his energies more fully into the work of discernment and priestly formation at Bishop White. As rector, Father Barnett will oversee the formation of our two Spokane seminarians studying at Bishop White: Nicholas Rust and Kieron Anderson.

Father Matthew Nicks, who is pastor of the parishes in Walla Walla, will take on the role of director of seminarians. He will oversee the formation of Spokane’s post-college men. This includes seminarians who already have a bachelor’s degree and need initial intellectual and spiritual formation before advancing to graduate-level theology studies, as well as those who are in the midst of theological studies themselves. We often refer to these men as “pre-theologians” and “theologians,” respectively. This year, we have two theologians studying at St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, California: Andrew Kelly and Nicolas Castoldi. As director of seminarians, Father Nicks will collaborate with the seminaries of our post-college men to ensure the quality of their formation and to determine their suitability for ordination. He will also arrange for their formation experiences outside the academic year, such as parish summer assignments where seminarians can gain hands-on pastoral experience.

I now serve as director of vocations in addition to my role as parochial vicar at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes. My responsibilities include promoting a culture of discernment in the diocese, encouraging men to consider a vocation to the priesthood specifically and evaluating candidates for admission to become seminarians. I am excited to take on this role because I am convinced that living out your vocation is the key to holiness and ultimate happiness. I look forward to sharing more with you my enthusiasm for vocations. In the meantime, I ask for your prayers for a rich harvest of vocations in our diocese.

In Christ,

Father Ratuiste