Story by Christina Leslie, Correspondent
Though many of today’s youth keep in touch with others instantaneously and electronically with smartphones, computers and tablets, others are reaching out with words of encouragement and prayerful support in the old-fashioned style: messages written on paper and drawn with crayons.
The Seminarian Letter Project, instituted in 2000 by the New Jersey State Council of the Knights of Columbus, encourages students in Catholic schools and parish religious education programs to send letters and cards to men studying for the priesthood.
John Tirado of the St. Jude Council, Knights of Columbus, Blackwood, had designed the project with the two-fold purpose of nurturing vocations and stemming the declining numbers of men journeying to the priesthood in his home Diocese of Camden.
The project proved so popular that Knights of Columbus councils statewide have adopted the practice. Thousands of inspirational, heartfelt and even humorous letters have been sent to men studying in seminaries throughout the country during the project’s 17-year history.
In the Diocese of Trenton, the Epiphany Parish religious education program and Knights of Columbus council joined forces for the project, resulting in 75 letters of support mailed to Deacon Thomas J. Barry, Jr., a transitional deacon who will be ordained a priest by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., June 3 in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton.
Michele Evans, the program’s administrative aide, recalled, “We asked our first, second and third graders to write short notes. We gave them construction paper and crayons, and they wrote messages like ‘good luck’ and tried to draw pictures of priests. They were very cute.”
Past Grand Knight Robert Hermida said, “They were heartfelt and genuine with messages like ‘I hope you are having fun in seminary,’ and ‘thanks for becoming a priest, please pray for my mom.’ They really touch you.”
He added, “It is important to support and encourage the seminarians to become priests. It’s a great Knights program and one of the simplest things you can do.”
Deacon Barry agreed, leafing through the letters and occasionally chuckling as he recounted the messages contained in the colorful missives.
“The letters range from the standard ‘we are praying for you’ to very personal, like they love their dog or fight with their brothers and sisters,” he said. “The drawings are wonderful and creative. They include religious symbols like a cross or a church, and they put in amazing detail.”
Deacon Barry concluded, “It is very encouraging to see these young people being taught about the seminary and what we go through to become a priest. Maybe one day, I will be assigned to their parish, or might perform their marriage and meet them. We don’t know how much we might affect each other. Kids have to be nurtured if they are interested in religious life. The call comes from God.”
A similar partnership between the Knights of Columbus Lawrence Council in Lawrenceville and the town’s St. Ann Parish saw sixth, seventh and eighth graders in its school and religious education program generate nearly 100 letters this spring.
Grand Knight John W. Sikorski sent five to eight of the encouraging messages to each of the 16 men studying in seminaries for the Diocese of Trenton. One recipient was especially close to the council’s and parish’s hearts: Deacon Michael A. Gentile, Jr., also a transitional deacon whose home parish is St. Ann and he is a member of the Lawrence Council.
“We received a thank you note from Michael for the letters and for our ordination gift,” Sikorski said. Likening the council’s participation in the Seminarian Letter Project as insurance in the future of the Church, he stated, “Any support we can give to our priests is valuable.”
Like Deacon Barry, Deacon Gentile chuckled as he recalled the children’s letters.
“They were unexpected, and so nice. I’m in the process of writing a thank you note back,” Deacon Gentile said. “They said they were thinking of us here, and they all thank us for studying to be a priest. It made me happy and very encouraged to see they are praying for us. They seem excited we will become priests.”
Not all the sentiments are so penitent, Deacon Gentile said with a smile.
“Some of them wonder what I do all day, whether I like sports or watch television,” he said with a smile. “One of the letters had a list of five questions for me to see what I was like. The letters were certainly genuine.
“They recognize [the seminary] is not easy, but they desire to learn more about the priesthood,” Deacon Gentile said. “This is the age they will be searching what they want to do when they grow older. Maybe they will consider the priesthood, or the girls the religious life. This gives them the awareness.”