MEET
OUR PRIESTS
Fr. Scott Giuliani, SOLT
Hometown: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
University: University of Notre Dame
Major: Bachelor of Finance and Sociology
Ordination: July 14th, 2009
Years Ordained as a Priest: 9 years
Where do you serve now:
Divine Mercy Church, Belize City;
San Pedro RC Church, San Pedro Town, Belize.
How did you find out about SOLT: I met the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity providentially while on pilgrimage in Europe.
How did God call you: I believe it was through Our Blessed Mother's intercession that the call was coordinated in a way that would get my attention. I was working in Commercial Real Estate with CB Richard Ellis, with the leading brokers of the area while growing in daily prayer and frequently receiving the sacraments. I was very content with life, and had plans to settle in Sacramento, CA. Soon after the promise of Carmelite nuns to pray for me and during a period of repeated, and more frequent, but undeniable internal movements to love God in a more radical way than I was, there were three significant encounters, within a week, with persons reminding me of my invitation to the priesthood. These encounters impacted me in such a way that I made arrangements to sell my car, found a replacement for my lease agreement, and left my job to begin a very different way of following Our Lord. I have never regretted that decision.
Favorite part of mission life: A beautiful sunset at the end of a day of encountering our Lord in his service!
Fr. Mark Wendling, SOLT
Hometown: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
University: University of Toronto
Major: Biochemistry and Chemistry
Ordination: May 11th, 2003
Years Ordained as a Priest: 15 years
Where do you serve?
Vocations Director
Rector of Seminarians
Detroit, Michigan
How did you find out about SOLT: Through volunteer teaching at the SOLT Mission in Belize - contact was my best friend from university who’s parent were SOLT lay members, and who had himself taught in Belize
How did God call you: Through 1) a life-changing experience of the joy encountered in serving the poor and needy while volunteer teaching 2) friendships with other volunteers who’s faith inspired and affected me 3) the example and friendship of a 30+ year missionary priest and WWII veteran, Fr. John McHugh. These factors increased my faith and catalyzed an acceptance of the faith in a personal way that directed my life and vision. When God made clear His desire that I be a priest, the seeking of perfect happiness in His will was what made the “yes” an easy and possible one. He has not left me wanting :)
Favorite part of mission life: The constant adventure, change, and the thrill and privilege of being on the “front lines” of the work of God, in close contact with His beloved: those on the peripheries and margins, the poor, and broken.
Fr. Samuel Medley, SOLT
Hometown: Annandale, Minnesota
University: University of Minnesota
Major: German
Ordination: July 17th, 2008
Years Ordained as a Priest: 10 years
Where do you serve?
Our Lady of Corpus Christi Retreat Center
Corpus Christi, Texas
How did you find out about SOLT: Internet
How did God call you: I was in a serious relationship thinking about marriage, when I felt God calling me to be entirely his own. I first thought this was to be a diocesan priest, but then the Church helped me discern the particular calling to be a missionary priest. I visited SOLT and immediately felt at home, especially because of the Marian spirituality, the joyful community life, and the way they both ministered to those in greatest apostolic need but also the way they treated the weaker members of community i.e. sick and elderly. After entering the missionary vocation rang true and I have spent most of my time serving in missions throughout the world.
Favorite part of mission life: I love serving the poor. They ground me, make my life more human, but also reveal both the humility of God’s love and my own poverty. I especially love hearing confessions. Nothing will ever compare to having front row seats to watching people break free from their chains and find true liberty in Jesus Christ.
Fr. Brady Williams, SOLT
Hometown: Humble, TX
University: only two years of university before entering; University of Oklahoma, Stephen F. Austin State University
Major: started out in Meteorology, then changed to Theater and finally English/Literature before entering; have a Bachelors in Theology and a Licentiate (Masters) in Liturgical Theology
Ordination: July 10th, 2004
Years Ordained as a Priest: 14 years
Where do you serve?
Secretary on the General Council
Novice Servant in Corpus Christi, Texas
How did you find out about SOLT: through the Disciples of Jesus and Mary via Fr. Santan Pinto, SOLT
How did God call you: At first, I was moved to be a foreign missionary, to go out and serve people less fortunate than I, and to be a living witness of Christ for them. As that unfolded I realized that the Lord was inviting me to something deeper and a more radical following of Jesus as a holy priest.
Favorite part of mission life: living and working at the community headquarters allows me to work with a variety of Priests, Sisters, and Brothers of the community; accompanying men aspiring to join SOLT: fascinating to see them grow and mature in the faith and in their vocational calling.
Fr. Tristan Abbott, SOLT
Hometown: George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.
University: Franciscan University of Steubenville
Major: French and Theology
Ordination: May 31st, 2014
Years Ordained as a Priest: 4 years
Where do you serve?
Nuestra Señora del Refugio,
Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico
How did you find out about SOLT: My sister joined SOLT a number of years before I entered and had told me about Our Lady's Society.
How did God call you: When I was younger I recognized that I had lived a very blessed youth and this sparked in me the desire to give something back to God. When, by divine providence, I ended up at Franciscan University, the example of other guys discerning religious life made me realized that if they could do it, I could too. I had brief mission experiences in Mexico and spent two years in China as a lay missionary and this helped me to see that I wanted to serve Our Lord in the missions. The Holy Spirit was constantly speaking to me in my heart of a vocation and eventually I decided to follow my sister into SOLT, given what I had learned of the missionary nature of the Society and its devotion to Our Lady and the Eucharist.
Favorite part of mission life: The fact that there is always something new to do and learn. No two days are ever the same.
Fr. Jeremy Davis, SOLT
Hometown: Prairie Village, KS
University: Benedictine College
Major: Economics and Spanish
Ordination: June 6th, 2015
Years Ordained as a Priest: 3 years
Where do you serve?
Santa María del Mexicano
Colón, Querétaro, Mexico
How did you find out about SOLT: Upon graduation from Benedictine College, a monk recommended that I serve in Benque Viejo del Carmen, Belize as a volunteer teacher. There, in Benque, I came to know SOLT.
How did God call you: God’s grace finally broke through in my first year in Benque as a volunteer. I experienced a life-changing conversion in Benque. He quietly spoke to me in my newfound desire for prayer. My longings for community, friendship, and service were revealed to me and their fulfillment found itself in my life of faith. Religious brotherhood and priesthood are a part of me and discovering what that means has been a tremendous joy for me.
Favorite part of mission life: I love living and serving in a family. I serve with another priest and four sisters as we care for over 200 abandoned, troubled, and poor youth. To teach and live the Gospel as a spiritual father and dad to these children has become a great joy of priesthood for me in the mission.
Fr. Tony Blount, SOLT
Hometown: Tampa, Florida
University: Franciscan University of Steubenville and Holy Apostles
Major: Psychology/Theology, Philosophy/Humanities
Ordination: May 25th, 1996
Years Ordained as a Priest: 22 years
Where do you serve?
Most Holy Redeemer
Detroit, Michigan
How did you find out about SOLT: I found out about SOLT from a friend, Hubert Hey, now deceased. He was a wonderful older gentleman, who looked into the Society for a while. I then went to Holy Apostles, unsponsored, and found the Society there, with about 20 seminarians at the time. At the end of my first year there, I met Fr. Flanagan, who was just returning from the Philippines; this would have been in the Spring of 1990. I joined the community the following fall semester.
How did God call you: The Lord first called me, you could say, from near atheism to a firmer belief in Him. It became clear to me, later, that there might be a call to the priesthood. I tested this once, by asking the Lord to show me 3 times, through the scriptures, that this was what He wanted of me. He answered, but I was still not convinced. Later, I found the desire to be a priest growing within me, without knowing how. I asked the Lord again, a year after the first time, to confirm this through the scriptures, and when I opened the Bible and pointed, with my eyes closed, I landed on the verse from Hebrews: "You are a priest forever..." As I said, the desire to be a priest kept growing, from being non-existent, to being a possibility, to being a probability, to being the only thing I could imagine doing.
Favorite part of mission life: I love, above all, to celebrate the Mass, and to proclaim God's word to His people. I love also, working with the poor, who have so much faith, with the needy, who are special to God.
Fr. Zachary
of the Mother of God, SOLT
Hometown: Detroit, Michigan
University: Oakland University (Rochester, MI) 1983, McGeorge School of Law (Sacramento, CA) 1986 Juris Doctor and 1987 Latin Laws Master in Business and Taxation.
Major: B.A. with a major in Political Science and a minor in International Management
Juris Doctor and 1987 Latin Laws Master in Business and Taxation.
Ordination: July 10th, 2004
Years Ordained as a Priest: 14 years
Where do you serve?
I serve as Vocations Director and Director of Formation for the Clerical Association for the American Region of SOLT.
How did you find out about SOLT: I found out about SOLT through the preaching and missions of a SOLT priest
How did God call you: I was called to the Eternal High Priesthood of Jesus Christ through a Saint Paul type of conversion on the Vigil of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception in 1993. I know what Our Lady did for this lost soul. At that time I was given the grace to pray one of the most powerful prayers of my life: “God help me” and to mean it from my heart. Everything changed from there as the journey began and continues to this day.
Favorite part of mission life: Every part of Mission is truly full of awe and wonder. It is the most demanding and challenging way of life. It is also the most rewarding and fruitful way of life. To be an instrument in the hands of God as He works miracles in the lives of His people is beyond describing with words.
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HEAR THE CALL?
FILL IN THE FROM BELOW TO GET MORE INFORMATION
OR CONTACT THIS NICE FELLA:
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Priests & Brothers Vocations
361.767.9567
vocations@gmail.com
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Fr. Mark Wendling, SOLT
