Unusual group of future priests

By ANGELA CAVE- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

The newest crop of seminarians for the Albany Diocese boasts a smorgasbord of experiences - from a chemistry student to a Japan transplant to a horse doctor.

The three men - Michael Dessingue, 26; Justin Charlebois, 35; and Rick Lesser, 58 - will begin studies for the priesthood this fall.

Mr. Dessingue is a parishioner of St. Paul's parish in Schenectady and a 2004 graduate of Colonie Central High School. He studied engineering at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, where he later earned a degree in liberal arts with an education focus.

Mr. Dessingue began studying chemistry at The College of Saint Rose in Albany in 2011, the same year he was accepted as a seminarian. He deferred the start of his priestly studies until his upcoming college graduation; he currently works as a lab technician in CSR's chemistry department.

Mr. Charlebois grew up attending Our Lady of Grace parish in Ballston Lake and St. Edward's parish in Clifton Park. He has a bachelor's degree in secondary education, as well as a master's degree and a doctorate in applied linguistics. For the past 11 years, he taught comparative culture, intercultural communication and sociolinguistics at universities in Japan.

Dr. Lesser ran a veterinary practice for horses for 25 years with his wife, Marilyn Schmidt, who died in 2005. The Pennsylvania native has a bachelor's degree in animal science from Cornell University in Ithaca. He took courses through the diocesan Formation for Ministry Program to help serve his home parish of St. Patrick's in Ravena and earned his Master of Divinity degree in 2012. He also took theology classes at Siena College in Loudonville.

Dr. Lesser sold his Ravena veterinary practice last fall and will begin studies as a third-year theology student at Blessed John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Mass., this fall.

"My first vocation was to the married life and as a veterinarian," he said. "I was very pleased that those are what I was supposed to be doing at the time."

Dr. Lesser is being sponsored by Our Lady of Hope parish in Copake Falls and living at St. Jude the Apostle parish in Wynanstkill. He says his experiences caring for horses, which he calls a service profession, will translate well to caring for a spiritual flock.

"Learning how to be a servant crosses a lot of vocations," he said. "No one was called 'doctor' in our practice. We fulfilled the healing need in a compassionate way. I got a great deal of satisfaction from helping the animals and the people that brought them."

He said he learned the skills of empathy, intuition, observation and patience and witnessed an array of joys and sorrows in the equine world.

"Those are all ways of being that would make me effective as a parish priest," Dr. Lesser said. "We take care of the humblest backyard pony in the most poverty-stricken areas and the most prestigious or athletic individuals owned by more affluent people. I've learned to appreciate the whole spectrum."

Dr. Lesser's three children - ages 18, 22 and 27 - are supportive of his vocation to the priesthood. He'll leave his four pet horses in the care of his former colleagues and visit them in his free time. [[In-content Ad]]