Father Dave’s Vocation Story

Father Dave at a baptism

God is patient! I was born and raised in Cranston, RI, the youngest of five children. I attended public schools until I entered Providence College, a small, Catholic, liberal arts college run by the Domincan Order of friars. Even though my family went to Mass every Sunday, I didn’t give priesthood a thought. I was never an altar server, and I didn’t have an uncle who was a priest. It wasn’t until my mid-twenties when I first gave serious consideration to a vocation as a priest.

After working for eight years in local and state politics in my teens and early twenties, I moved to New York City to give the corporate world a shot. Looking back, it’s clear to me I was searching for something – fulfillment, happiness, a purpose. Although I was a good employee, and well-paid, I wasn’t happy. Something was missing. It wasn’t until an old college friend visited me and told me he was a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Boston that I considered becoming a priest. It shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise – I was attending daily Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue every morning on my way to work. How many 25-year-old men attend daily Mass?

Soon after my friend’s visit, I contacted the vocation director for the Diocese of Providence. I applied and they accepted. After studying theology at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore for two years as a seminarian for the Diocese of Providence, I took a leave of absence. I had reservations about my commitment to celibacy, and doubts about being able to live a healthy life in a rectory by myself. During my leave of absence, I worked at The Johns Hopkins University as a fundraiser, and earned a graduate degree in Counseling from Hopkins.

For four years, my faith grew in the great city of Baltimore. I was an active member of the Corpus Christi Catholic parish, serving on the liturgy committee, as an RCIA sponsor, and a lector. What blessed years! The priest “itch” didn’t go away, but it did get more focused. I realized that surrounding myself with a like-minded community of men was essential if I was going to live out a healthy, celibate life. The Holy Spirit was hard at work when three separate friends suggested I speak to the Paulist Fathers. I had never heard of the Paulist Fathers. But to a person my friends told me they knew Paulists, and thought it would be a good fit for me. The rest is history. I was ordained a Paulist priest on May 22, 1999 at the age of 37. There hasn’t been a dull moment since.