Rick Samuel
Special to the Michigan Catholic

Detroit — As there is no cookie-cutter way of describing Catholics, the same holds true for priests and the routes taken to the priesthood.

“People are just doing things later in life. They’re getting married later in life, and the priesthood mirrors society,” said Fr. Tim Birney, vocations director for the Archdiocese of Detroit.

So life begins later many times. Not as many people are getting married in their teens and early 20s as there were years ago. Many families are started later than previously, too. In the instance of the priesthood, the path toward the priesthood begins after a candidate goes through a good portion of life, discovers or eventually explores a calling toward the vocation and takes the steps needed to become a priest.

The archdiocese has several men who could be considered ‘non-traditional,’ including two candidates who are studying at a seminary in Massachusetts geared toward middle-aged men. The archdiocese already has a couple of priests who got their start after secular careers, too.

“No matter what their age, they feel the Lord is calling them to serve as a priest,” Fr. Birney said.  “Some candidly respond earlier in life, and others have it bounce around in their head for a while, but they respond.”

As is the case with any seminarian, many reaffirm the desire to follow their calling to the priesthood. Others discover it’s just not the right fit for their lives.

“Some pan out and some don’t,” Fr. Birney said. But the older candidates pan out far more often than their younger counterparts. Candidates going through the older seminary generally come through it as priests 90 percent of the time. Typically, 30 percent of all seminarians complete their training and become priests.

The standards for accepting someone into the priesthood are different for each diocese. Generally, each bishop determines the criteria for inclusion. Among the guidelines for the Archdiocese of Detroit, candidates may have a history of being married, but only if the marriage ends naturally (by the death of a spouse) instead of a divorce. Also, as a parent has to deal with the needs of his children, a candidate’s children must be at least 21 years old.

The Blessed John XXIII Seminary has catered to the “second-career candidate,” as Fr. Birney put it, for more than 45 years.

Greg Piatt, 51, falls into that category. In his first year of study at Blessed John XXIII Seminary near Boston, Piatt had a long and distinguished career as a journalist. His beats included coverage of the military and wars. Professionally speaking, Piatt was able to gain a great deal of fulfillment. But that alone wasn’t enough.

Today, he’s a seminarian.

“I am very happy here,” Piatt said. “This is a place where I know I should be in, at this point in time. It’s geared toward the older guy.”

A common concern expressed by many people who once again become students while in the midst of or after a professional career is that it’s harder to go back to school. Even with the wisdom and improved organizational skills that come with time, it still can be a challenge to reacquaint oneself with an academic life.

“We have courses in the beginning designed to get you back into studying, so they do address it,” Piatt said. Also, the program — which normally lasts six years at most seminaries — has been compacted to a four-year program. That allows candidates to get out into the world quicker. The 51-year-old is in the first year of school studying theology, something he’s been planning on for quite a while.

For basically his entire life, Piatt pictured himself becoming a priest. That’s something that never left him from when he was a youngster.

His career as a journalist began in the 1980s, when he worked for the Detroit News (his beats included coverage of Pope John Paul II’s visit to Detroit). He then earned a scholarship to study the native language in Krakow, Poland, studying and then working there for six years. He returned home and continued his professional ascent, but never really turned away from the idea of the priesthood.

A few moments brought clarity to the concept, though.

Once, on another trip to Poland, he prayed for guidance at a fresco of the Virgin Mary — another location visited by John Paul II. He also made another visit to Poland, where he “prayed and promised to live a virtuous life.”

Later, he was working another good newspaper job, but faith still played a major role in his life. He would attend Mass on a daily basis, attending lunchtime adorations. But as he prayed, he continued to hear the same question inside his head.

“How long are you going to make me wait?” Piatt said. “”That’s the voice I would hear in my head.”

Piatt also knew he needed to come home to help care for his dying father, so he left another ‘ideal’ job to do what his heart felt was the right thing to do.

“I prayed over it,” he said. “I’d hear, take care of my father when he’s old and feeble…God has ways to move you along and prepare you.”

Blessed John XXIII Seminary is designed for candidates between the ages of 30 and 60. It is expected that they have previously earned undergraduate degrees, which is part of why the program can be competed in four years.

“Once they become priests, we can get many good years from older seminarians,” Fr. Birney said. “They are very valuable members of the Church.”