This weekend, four second-year novices will be making their first vows at the Professions Mass and ceremony at the Legionaries of Christ Novitiate and College of Humanities. These young men will be professing vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience for the first time, making them religious seminarians.
This first profession of temporary vows marks the end of the two-year novitiate stage of the path to becoming a Legionary priest. These seminarians will then go on to complete one or two years of classical humanities studies, followed by three years studying philosophy in Rome, during which time these first vows will be renewed. This leads into two or three years of internship and three years of formal theology studies, followed by ordination to the transitional diaconate, and finally, ordination to the Legionary priesthood.
Get to know a bit about the second-year novices making their professions this Saturday and keep them in your prayers:
Br. Inoh Choe, LC
“Lord, you gave me a second chance. Thank you.”
It was a near-death experience on the side of a mountain that caused Br. Inoh to first recognize that God was calling him to the priesthood. Until then, he had been on the road to “success,” with a graduate degree, a high-powered job, and plans to start a family and build a billion-dollar company—he left all this for an even greater adventure. “Lady Death had opened my eyes to a different kind of ascent, one that wasn’t about corporate or mountain peaks, but about giving my life to God.”
Read more of Br. Inoh’s story here!
Br. Austen Davis, LC
Br. Austen’s journey to the seminary is marked with multiple moments of God’s Providence: getting accepted to NC State College (through the intercession of Mary); meeting Fr. John Curran, LC, and being offered a place to live at St. Joseph’s parish; an instrumental book; and friends at Catholic Campus Ministry. But it was during a Mass being offered for a man named “Austen” that Br. Austen heard God’s call in the priest’s homily. “From his reflection, a question arose in me: ‘What is the biggest thing I can do for my family and my friends?’ My answer: ‘To become a priest!’ That was the moment that I was called by name.”
Read more of Br. Austen’s story here!
Br. Mark Lawrence, LC
Many providential encounters—with the young woman he was dating at the time, a Young Catholic Professionals convention, the vocation director of his diocese, his Exodus 90 group, and a novena to St. Therese of Lisieux—led Br. Mark away from a culture of moral relativism toward a life of mission, service, and community. In his two years of novitiate, he has cherished the time to learn silence, prayer, virtue, and disconnection from the world, remaining instead in the desert with Jesus. “I love being a part of the Legionary brotherhood, adventure, and mission, and I am excited to continue sharing with others the beauty and richness of our faith.”
Read more of Br. Mark’s story here!
Br. Zachary Le Leux, LC
Br. Zachary’s faith was nurtured throughout his life—at The Highlands School, in various apostolates and activities like Holy Week missions and ECYD, and at the Ignition Retreat at the seminary in Cheshire. During his time as a member of Regnum Christi Mission Corps in Monterrey, Mexico, he witnessed the first profession of vows of a group of Legionary novices as well as some Consecrated Women, and was moved by their joy and sense of purpose. During a silent retreat at the end of his first semester, Br. Zachary discerned his call to continue to the summer Candidacy program and begin the pathway to becoming a Legionary priest. “I knew that God would give me the courage and peace to say yes to his plans.”
Read more of Br. Zachary’s story here!
The Professions Mass and ceremony will take place this Saturday, August 9th beginning at 10:30a.m. ET, followed by a celebration on the seminary grounds. Watch the livestream here.