Peoria Vocations

Everyone is called to something. What's your calling?

Catholic Diocese of Peoria : Office of Priestly Vocations
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Jonathan Puckett

Birth Date

December 28

Parish Location

St. Matthew, Champaign

Year entered the Seminary/Class of

Entered in 2021, Class of 2027

Studying at
Mundelein Seminary

Why did you become a seminarian?

After several years of discernment, I believe that God is calling me to be His Priest. I first felt called to the priesthood following my conversion to Catholicism as a senior in high school. Not wanting to mistake the initial zeal of conversion with a call to Holy Orders, I waited several years and completed bachelor’s programs at the University of Southern Mississippi. All this time, a gentle nudging in my heart urged me toward the priesthood. Gazing upon Our Eucharistic Lord granted me much consolation where there had been doubt. In August 2021, I moved to Illinois to continue my education and entrusted my stay in the Midwest to Ven. Fulton J. Sheen’s prayers. Within a month, Ven. Sheen provided me with a spiritual advisor, and I received “the peace that surpasses all understanding.” For me, discerning my vocation has been a gradual process of abandonment to God.

Before you entered the seminary, what were you doing?

I received a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois. Throughout my undergraduate and graduate careers, I worked in archives and special collections with an emphasis in historical manuscripts preservation.

An interesting fact about you

I have walked the last 72 miles of the Camino de Santiago.

 

Peoria Vocations