Mentors guide newer priests

Life can be challenging for a new priest. Rev. David LeFort knows: It wasn't too long ago that he was one.

"I came from a seminary overseas; I studied in Rome," recalled the pastor of St. Ann's Church in Fort Ann and Our Lady of Hope in Whitehall. "I had established over the many years there a new kind of family. It was a very hard time for me to transition out of the structure of a seminary, where everything was laid out for me, where I simply had to plug in."

But sooner or later, seminarians find themselves back in their home dioceses, ordained and needing to learn about the hundreds of new experiences that life in a parish provides.

For Father LeFort, those occasions asked of him things that "had never been called into the arena before." And when he needed a helping hand, an answer to a burning question, or just someone to help him brainstorm an idea or two, he turned to his mentor.

Advisor

"I had a wonderful mentor in Rev. Randall Patterson," Father LeFort said. "I needed someone who asked, 'How is Father LeFort doing as Father? Is he praying well? getting his exercise? having a good balance in his life? Do I need to encourage him more? Can I challenge him, too?' And I think that is what we are really looking for in our mentors."

Father LeFort is repaying his mentor's efforts by working with other priests in the Albany Diocese to expand the current mentoring program for the newly-ordained. The program matches clergymen fresh out of seminary with more practiced priests.

The program is the product of efforts by the diocesan Committee for Ongoing Formation for Priests to make sure that recently ordained clergy receive "as much input and assistance in making the transition -- both personal and ministerial -- from seminary to parish life. It is a transition that can be overwhelming," said Father LeFort.

Listening

Priest-mentors "actively listen to issues of adjustment, offer insight into ways of solving problems and give priests someone who they can turn to, someone who has walked this walk and talked this talk," explained Rev. Anthony Chiaramonte, administrative director of the Consultation Center of the Albany Diocese.

He assisted in the training of some of the 40 priests who signed up last fall to be mentors.

Mentors and new priests are encouraged to meet face-to-face for the first three to five years of priesthood. The structure of the sessions takes the form of "whatever is going to work for them to establish trust and openness, a climate where there can be some challenge, real growth and accountability," said Father LeFort. "It's got to be honest, and that's the responsibility of each. It's going to be hard, challenging and difficult, but the rewards are even greater."

Staying connected

For priests assigned to far-flung rural parishes, the mentoring program can be a potent weapon to combat feelings of isolation and loneliness, Father Chiaramonte said.

"We're concerned [about] the presbyterate being a fraternal, caring, supportive environment in which we give to one another," he explained. "This is one way in which we can give that kind of support so that the person doesn't feel alone."

Father LeFort hopes that the newly ordained priests see the mentoring program as an opportunity for professional -- and personal -- growth.

"The experiences that I have had with people that have assisted me in my growth helped me to be a better priest," he said. "This relationship is a gift from the Bishop and from other priests. They want the challenges and the excitements of priesthood to build good, solid priests who are happy and enjoy growth in the holy life -- a life of service, prayer and joy."

(A veteran priest's curriculum vitae and biographical information are packaged into a profile, which is distributed to candidates for the priesthood before ordination. A candidate reviews the mentor profiles and chooses the one he feels most comfortable with. Bishop Howard J. Hubbard makes the final decision in matching mentors with new priests.)

(1/22/04)