I smile when I think about the story of how I became a priest. 

When I celebrated my 25th anniversary to the priesthood in 1993, I was stationed at St. Mary of the Angels Church in Olean, N.Y., and, of course, we had a party. One of my friends from the old neighborhood gave me a card. On the front of the card was the image of Superman flying to somewhere. When I opened the card, my friend had written, “I guess you really did become Superman.” 

I smiled because she remembered my jumping off roofs in the old neighborhood, dressed in my own version of a Superman outfit, including the famous cape that was probably an old towel from our bathroom. I was 10 or 11 years old at the time. There was nothing about me that would cause people to remark, “Oh, Larry will someday be a priest.”

I do not come from the typical Catholic family: you know, mom and dad bringing the kids to church on Sunday. That didn’t happen. Fortunately, however, I was able to go to a Catholic high school staffed by the Holy Cross Fathers in Lackawanna, N.Y., just south of Buffalo. The association with those priests changed my life.

I was the classic introvert in high school, nervous and shy, and didn’t stand out in any way. It was probably by my junior year that I started thinking to myself, “What would it be like to be one those guys?’”

Those guys were my teachers and since they were priests, they came to my parish on the weekends to celebrate Mass. I loved the idea of the priest/teacher, and because they were such good role models and seemed happy, I was naturally drawn to want to be one of them. They hung out after school and were at the athletic games and the dances and I thought they were the greatest. 

How I got accepted into the seminary is another story, trust me, but I entered Stonehill College in September 1959 as a postulant in the Congregation of Holy Cross. I was 17 years old and had never been away from Buffalo in my entire life. When I entered the doors at Holy Cross Fathers Seminary, however, I knew I was home. “Grateful to God” would not begin to express how I feel today about that event. It was the most important day of my life. That does sound a bit dramatic, but honestly, I can’t imagine doing anything else than being a priest in the Congregation of Holy Cross.

I was ordained at Holy Cross Fathers Seminary (now Holy Cross Center at Stonehill College) on June 1, 1968. What a time that was. Just shy of two months earlier, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and just six days after my ordination, Robert Kennedy was as well. The changes that were occurring in the Church since the Second Vatican Council were in full bloom. We were the first class to celebrate Mass in English. It was a strange time — exciting and challenging, too. 

What do I love about the priesthood? People, helping others, the opportunities to serve in a very unique way and so much more. I never dreamed I would be able to minister in so many different places and in so many different ways when I was ordained but the opportunities presented to me have also helped me to grow as a person. I have been inspired by others’ stories and have been astounded by the trust that people put in priests. 

In addition, the Congregation of Holy Cross has afforded me opportunities that have enriched my life and challenged me at the same time. I’ve taught in high schools and colleges, preached the Word, tried to be a good listener, presided at Eucharist, baptized, forgiven sins, confirmed at the Easter Vigil, and anointed the sick and dying. In short, I have been given incredible opportunities to minister as a priest. Who has a better life than we priests do? And I am very grateful that I love what I do because there are so many people in this world who unfortunately don’t love what they do. I can’t imagine anything other than being a priest. 

The priesthood today, as most priests will acknowledge, is and has always been challenging. That is classic understatement. In my 41 years of priesthood, I have enjoyed the challenges for the most part. The world and Church today are very different from the world and the Church of the 50s and 60s that I experienced as a young person. When people ask me why I became a priest, I just smile, realizing that I really had very little to do with it. It is all grace. 

I can only be grateful to God for this gift and pray that I will continue to be grateful for the rest of my life. Who knows what challenges lay ahead for the Church in the next 10 or 20 years? It will surely be challenging and exciting as it has been for my entire life as a Holy Cross priest. 

Father Jerge is parochial vicar at Holy Cross Parish in South Easton.