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"Having already lived a life that has been full of joys and sorrows, I'm better able to identify with parishioners' lives," said Rev. F. Richard Lesser, pastor of Corpus Christi parish in Round Lake.

Father Lesser is what's known as a "second-career priest," meaning that he entered the priesthood after the age of 35. In his first career, he was an equine veterinarian. Also a widower with three grown children, the priest said the transition to religious life wasn't actually that difficult.

"My wife and I were veterinarians. It was a service industry," the 61-year-old said. "You're on call all the time. It's been pretty good training for the priesthood. On some level, the concept of service is universal."

Father Ligato, vicar for vocations for the Albany Diocese and pastor of St. Jude the Apostle parish in Wynantskill, said that, for some second-career priests, the transition can be more difficult.

"Your entire life is being altered and transformed," he told The Evangelist. "It's a surrendering way of life."

Diocesan tradition
The Albany Diocese has earned a reputation for considering older candidates for the priesthood. While some dioceses have younger cut-off ages for potential seminarians, the Diocese of Albany looks at applicants up to age 55.

Even that can be negotiated: "We will look at it on an individual basis," Father Ligato said. "Normally it takes six years," but if a man discerning the priesthood already has a master's degree in theology or divinity, for example, he would not need to spend as much time in formation in the seminary.

Bishop Emeritus Howard J. Hubbard said the decision to make the cut-off a bit older than some other U.S. dioceses came in the 1980s.

To accept a man for studies for the priesthood is "a quarter-of-a-million-dollar investment in a candidate," he explained. "It's of course not about the money, [but] you do have to consider how long a person is likely to serve. We figured if a man was ordained by the age of 60 and his health was maintained, he would give us 15 years of service."

The Bishop Emeritus suspects that the increase in older men applying for the priesthood has been a result of recruitment for vocations. There was a time when men entered the priesthood right out of high school or college; when that ebbed and the Church had to do more outreach in order to draw candidates, older men began discerning vocations.

Many pluses
The Bishop Emeritus believes older men make good priests, bringing in experience and maturity to their ministry.

"Our experience with second-career candidates has been very positive," he told The Evangelist.

Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger, in his column in this week's issue (see page 1), notes that "men who are ordained today -- especially across a Diocese like Albany, which spans some 10,000 square miles -- must serve parish communities of great variety in size, history and character, where needs and expectations can seem very different, requiring great pastoral sensitivity and professional skills from our priests."

It wouldn't be possible to have second-career priests, noted Bishop Emeritus Hubbard, without seminaries that specialize in the formation of older men, such as Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Mass., which only admits men 30 or older.

That's the seminary most of the Diocese's second-career priests attend - including Rev. Steve Matthews, who was ordained in June and is now parochial vicar (associate pastor) at St. Pius X parish in Loudonville.

Experience helps
Father Matthews worked in the business world for a number of years. Though he enjoyed his career, he said, "this buzz in my ear was getting stronger." He reached out to about 10 different dioceses about applying for the priesthood; Albany was one of the few that responded.

"You have to believe that this is what God wanted," he said.

Moving from his home to a dorm room was a challenge, but Father Matthews was able to keep in touch with his friends; 19 of them came to his ordination to show their support.

Father Matthews has only been a priest for a few months; Father Lesser was ordained a little over a year ago. Both said their past experiences have helped them be better priests.

Father Lesser said he is able to better empathize with is parishioners, noting that if he hadn't entered religious life, he would have been in the shoes of many of his parishioners today.

For Deacon John Cronin, these experiences are just a stone's throw away. He will be ordained next year, "God willing," he said.

Before entering the seminary, the 45-year-old was an elementary school teacher for seven years. "Though I enjoyed it, it didn't feel like what I was supposed to be doing," he said.

Like Fathers Lesser and Matthews, he requires just four years of priestly preparation. He's now a transitional deacon and "couldn't be happier," he said -- though that doesn't mean there wasn't an adjustment period. In entering the seminary, he had to give up his apartment in Schenectady and get used to sharing a bathroom.

"It's odd not having an income," he added, though the Diocese does give seminarians a small stipend for necessities. Whenever a man is discerning the priesthood, said Father Ligato, "there are many things that have to be considered" -- but the most important factor is whether he has a calling.

At any age, "You have to work with a man to see if he is willing and able to accept what is expected of him," Father Ligato said.[[In-content Ad]]

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