Adam Dupre's Story

I am Adam Dupre. I did not start discerning a call to the priesthood until I was a senior in high school. In 2004 my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. It was at this point that I started to pray, and began to know the great treasures that prayer have. Until this point I was a typical lapsed Catholic. I went to Mass every once in a while and I had attended CCD classes and had received all of my Sacraments. At this point in my life I did not really believe in the Sacraments, but I just went along with the crowd. It was not until my grandmother's illness that I figured out how to pray, and how my faith would be found and have a profound affect on my life.

In April of 2005, around the time that the Servant of God John Paul II was dying, I had witnessed my grandmother receiving forgiveness of her sins in the Last Rites. This was a very moving moment for me in my faith, and in my relationship with Christ. When I saw my grandmother receive this I felt something inside of me change. I began to feel woozy. I ran outside to get some air, and then I vomited. It was a very moving experience for me both physically and emotionally.

When my grandmother had been moved to hospice I had decided to skip school on a particular Monday. When I arrived at the hospice care center, I was immediately met by my mother and a priest and I was afraid. The first thought that had popped into my head was that I got caught skipping school. The second was that my grandmother had passed away. Well, I was in trouble, kind of. My mother had caught me skipping school. The priest were there laughing with my mother, and the priest turned to me and said, "If you do not become a priest, your mother is going to Hell!" I was petrified when I heard this. But the priest and my mother began laughing and it turned out that they had known each other for a long time. Little did I know that although what the priest had said was very blunt, it was the planting of a seed that grew pretty fast.

My grandmother passed into Eternal Life on April 11, 2005. My grandfather stood at her bedside, the only one who was there. I remeber being up late on evening of the 10th of April. My mother had returned home from the hospice care center. She went to her room and she said that they were not sure if my grandmother would make it through the night. Early in the morning I heard the phone ring. I heard my mother scurrying around upstairs and when she had come downstairs she gave me a hug and said that my grandmother went home. I knew what she was talking about and my emotions were flooded. My mother pulled out of the driveway and made her way to the hospice center to be with my grandfather.

I stayed home and I prayed in a way that I had never prayed before. The moment I heard my grandmother had passed on, I was changed. I somehow felt that my life had a meaning to it that I was to come to understand someday and that it would be something that not just anyone could do. Little did I know that this was going to be the beginning of something extraordinary.

At my grandmother's month mind Mass, it happened also to be the Mass in which Fr. Michael Najim, the Diocese of Providence Vocation Director, was there preaching on vocations. I didn't have the courage to yet say that I was discerning, but I was. So I shook his hand after Mass and took an inquiry card. I sent it in at a later date.

When I decided to visit the diocesan seminary I was happy to be in such a holy place. I discerned with the Diocese of Providence for two years. After beginning the application process I went as far as the psychological testing. I finally discerned that life in the diocese was not for me. There was something missing in it. Community

I was looking for something that had a community center. So I went on line looking for it. I went to a vocations match website. They asked me a bunch of questions and I answered them. They set me up with a bunch of different religious communities, everything from the Maryknoll Fathers, to the Franciscans, to the Salesians. Well I guess you can tell who I picked. I picked the Salesians! The Salesians have a family spirit to them. No matter where you go you feel like you are at HOME! It is a wonderful feeling.

I am happy to say that after applying to and being accepted by the Salesians in the Eastern Province of St. Phillip the Apostle in the United States, (SUE). My director is Fr. Steve Leake, S.D.B. He is a great man of great character. He is a person who has been the one helping me to become a better person. I love being a Salesian. This year I am a pre-novice. That means that I am taking this year to work on my human development. To really discern on the human level if I can indeed live this life. I believe that I am called to live life with the Salesians. But I will wait to write about my experiences with the Salesians for another post.

Until next time I will keep you all in my prayer and pray that God leads you to your vocation in life, what ever it may be.

God Bless you!

Adam N. Dupre.