CHARLOTTE — Former Catholic Campus Ministry participants and now seminarians – (pictured from left) Deacon Alfonso Gamez Jr., Kevin Tran, Chinonso A. Nnebe-Agumadu and Nelson Woodbury – stopped by the Catholic Campus Ministry booth at the Eucharistic Congress Sept. 8.
The seminarians, who are all in formation at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, shared how Catholic Campus Ministry fostered or even led to an awareness of their vocation.
They pointed to the consistency of activities, good support and friends. Focusing on values and faith kept them searching for meaning and God in their lives, they said.
Deacon Gamez, a University of North Carolina at Charlotte graduate, said Catholic Campus Ministry “kept me grounded, gave me a sense of family and friends.” At CCM he learned what discernment was. He came to understand that “God had a plan for me (that was) all inclusive of my happiness.”
Tran, also a UNCC graduate, said Catholic Campus Ministry “led me to a deeper sense of prayer.” This, with the experiences of small group study and worship opportunities, fed his inner restlessness. He needed to find God’s will, and his search led him to request admission to the seminary.
Catholic Campus Ministry “gave me the opportunity to grow in the faith, especially through retreats which really helped affirm the call (to priesthood),” said Nnebe-Agumadu, a 2017 graduate of North Carolina A&T.
“I had thought about the priesthood, but Catholic Campus Ministry kept it alive in the midst of so many voices against it at college,” said Woodbury, a 2018 graduate of ASU.
He added that the most important part of the ministry for him was building deep relationships that grow out of meaningful and intimate discussions. “Friendship comes from mutual pursuit of virtue,” he said.
— Ann Kilkelly