Douglas Villanella

I was blessed to come from a Catholic family that has been very involved in the Church through the parish for as long as I can remember. I grew up altar serving at Mass and at other devotions like Stations of the Cross. I would also help out at the parish bazaar, and other events that our parish would have. That said, the faith was never really a foreign thing to me, and neither was the priesthood. The first call I felt to priesthood came at a very young age. My father noticed and told me that I would have his support along with my mother’s if that is what God was calling me to do. After that, my desire for priesthood grew rapidly. 

Throughout the years, the desire continued to grow, except for a couple of years in my early teens. I still wanted to be a priest then, I just wasn’t as focused on it. When I was about to graduate from high school, my parents again came into my discernment story in a major way. They said, “This is great if you still want to do it, but you actually have to go and do it.” They gave me the nudge and encouragement I needed to begin looking into seminary, and to decide whether I should contact one of the religious orders I was interested in or my Diocese. 

After prayer and discernment, I felt the tug on my heart to apply to be a seminarian in the Diocese of Syracuse. While filling out the application, I studied at Broome Community College and the Diocese accepted me in 2019. I was first sent to live at Cathedral Seminary House of Formation in Queens, New York. During my time there, I studied philosophy at St. John’s University for three years, since I already completed one year at BCC, and received my Bachelor’s degree in philosophy. I was then sent to Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland for two years to study theology before my Pastoral Year within our Diocese at the Parishes of Divine Mercy in Central Square and Sacred Heart in Cicero. I just completed my Pastoral Year and am just starting my third year at Mount St. Mary’s as a Third Theologian. 

In the years of my formation in seminary, there is a lot about the Faith, our Church and myself that I have learned. There have been many struggles, but also many good things that have made it worth all the effort. The Lord has taken care of me through it all, and He has given me a joy and peace in the ministries I’ve been able to participate in that I know I won’t find anywhere else. But most importantly, He has brought me closer to Himself as He has guided me in what I’ve learned, and shown me where to go and what to do every step of the way. I’m excited to see where He will lead me next on my path of formation, and priesthood one day if it be His will. He hasn’t disappointed me so far, and I know that if I stay close to Him, He never will.