Our Seminarians

Click on the image to meet our seminarians. To download the latest vocation poster, click here.

James Buttner

3rd Theology

Holy Family, Syracuse

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Theological College

401 Michigan Ave., NE
Washington, DC 20017

Benjamin Schrantz

Pastoral Year

St. Paul, Whitesboro

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St. Peter/St. Mary

200 N. James St.
Rome, NY 13442

2nd Theology

Holy Family, Syracuse

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Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary

16300 Old Emmitsburg Rd.
Emmitsburg, MD 21727

2nd Theology

St. Patrick, Binghamton

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St. Mary’s Seminary

5400 Roland Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21210

1st Theology
Our Lady of Lourdes, Utica

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Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary

16300 Old Emmitsburg Rd.
Emmitsburg, MD 21727

College IV

St. Mary’s Binghamton

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Cathedral Seminary Residence of the Immaculate Conception

7200 Douglaston Parkway
Douglaston, NY 11362

College III

Sacred Heart, Cicero

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Cathedral Seminary Residence of the Immaculate Conception

7200 Douglaston Parkway
Douglaston, NY 11362

Pastoral Year

Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

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Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

927 Park Avenue
Syracuse, NY 13204

Pre-Theology
Holy Family, Syracuse

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St. Mary's Seminary

5400 Roland Avenue

Baltimore, MD 21210

College I

Our Lady of Lourdes, Utica

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Cathedral Seminary Residenc

7200 Douglaston Parkway
Douglaston, NY 11362

We appreciate your continued prayers.

Have Questions?

James Buttner

During a phone interview to teach Totus Tuus after my sophomore year of college, I remember responding to the question of “Where have you encountered God?” with the definitive answer, “In my family!” Although I had not actively reflected on it a lot before, I realized that one of the most profound places that I had encountered the love of Christ was in the love of my parents and siblings.

Teaching Totus Tuus that summer, I witnessed the joy of parish life from a new perspective as a teacher and a missionary. I discovered the profound joy of giving of my time, talent, and treasure for the service of God and others. I realized that as much as I enjoyed studying physics as an undergrad, the way I was spending my free time – with the Newman community, reading about Catholicism, and praying in the chapel – revealed where my heart really was.

After graduating from Colgate University, I worked for a year and over that time witnessed how the invitation to the priesthood continued to grow in my heart. I realized that there was a desire on my heart to share the joy and beauty of my experience of a family life founded on faith, and that the Lord was inviting me to see how that could be especially possible through the diocesan priesthood. It has been a joy in the midst of challenges to navigate seminary formation and grow in the recognition that the Holy Spirit is still inviting me to follow this path. It becomes clearer with each year that the Lord’s invitation, “the call,” always challenges me but is always faithful.

Benjamin Schrantz

I grew up Catholic, but it was only when I went away to a secular college that I was able to grow in the faith. I joined the university’s Newman Center where I met a great bunch of young college age people who were serious about their own faith as well. This community quickly became a second family for me; we prayed together, we ate together, we grew closer to Christ together.

My goal was to go on and get my masters in Library Science; that is what I wanted to do. But through my time at the Newman Center, I started to get the inkling that God had other ideas for me. It was through my experiences at the Newman Center that placed the kernel within my heart that maybe, just maybe, God was calling me down another path.

After graduating from undergrad, I was accepted into the various graduate programs I applied for, but something did not seem right. So I ended up taking some time off from school and went to work full time at my home parish. It was during that time that I really became immersed in parish life, and the idea that God was calling me to “put into the deep” (Luke 5:4) kept coming back – stronger each time.

And before I knew it, I was applying for seminary. It is hard to believe, but I am already in my third year of seminary formation! And I have never been happier! God’s ways are mysterious, but when you allow Him to work in your heart, He will fill your life with an abundance of grace and peace.

John Brusa III

Growing up, my dream was to be a meteorologist. I wanted to be the guy on TV every evening giving the weather forecast. But God had other plans for me. I really initially found my faith after going on a Steubenville Youth Conference trip the summer before my sophomore year of high school. As time went on, I grew deeper in my faith, but still had the desire to become a broadcast meteorologist. That all began to slowly change when I discovered the soon to be Blessed Fulton Sheen.

Scrolling through my Instagram feed one day, one of the Catholic pages that I follow posted a quote by Fulton Sheen. Curious as to who he was, I read his Wikipedia page and was intrigued. Before I knew it, I was spending my study halls in school watching old episodes of his show Life is Worth Living. His life was an inspiration to me, and I began to think how awesome it would be to be like Bishop Sheen and save as many souls as he did.

A couple weeks later (towards the end of my senior year of high school), I found myself at Fr. Matthew Lyons’ ordination to the priesthood. I still do not really know why I went, but I remember being very impressed by the liturgy. I couldn’t get the thought out of my head that that could be me up there someday, giving myself completely to God and His church.

At that point, I began to seriously discern the priesthood. Once school got out, I began to go to mass every day and started to meet with a couple priests in order to get some advice on how to discern. It was still a thought in the back of my head though, as I still wanted to get a meteorology degree and maybe enter the seminary after that. But after attending a Steubenville conference one last time with my youth group, I really felt called to enter the college seminary. The day I got back home, I scheduled a meeting with my pastor and a few weeks later started the seminary application process. After spending a year at SUNY Oswego as a philosophy major, I was accepted by the diocese and entered Cathedral Seminary House of Formation in Queens, NY.

Having been at Cathedral Seminary for over a year, I am certain I am where God wants me. I can see myself growing deeper in my relationship with God, and the friendships that I have formed here are ones that will last a lifetime. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for me in the years to come.

Joseph Ryan

I came from a typical Catholic family—Sunday Mass, grace before meals—nothing exceptional, but God was certainly a part of my life growing-up. After enrolling at Seton Catholic Central from public school in eighth grade, I began to grow in my faith and see the Church as something more than just a place to go on Sundays. But the idea of priesthood never really entered my mind; I knew what I was going to do with my life: law and politics. I had a plan and wanted to change the world, so God’s plan was not much of a factor in my decision when applying for college at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

When I arrived on campus in August 2017, I had no idea I would be leaving my new home not in four years, but in one. Things were going according to my plan—great classes, new friends, an internship on Capitol Hill—but God had other things in mind. It was at the Mass of the Holy Spirit where I first felt a restlessness and uncertainty in my heart about the plan I had made for myself. Not knowing what this feeling was, and with an enkindled sense of faith, I brought this unease to prayer. I reflected during Holy Hours and masses on why I wanted to study law and enter politics and concluded that it was my strong desire to change the world for the better and make a life better for those around me. Then it hit me that there could be no more meaningful gift than to bring the grace of God into someone’s life in the Sacraments. Particularly, that there could be no greater change in the world than to bring Jesus Christ’s Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity into our midst in the Eucharist. Over the next few months, I reflected on Scripture and spoke to friends and priests about my discernment, trying to find what the Lord was asking of me.

It was at this point that a priest told me that I should consider applying to the seminary, even if I was not certain of where the Lord was calling me. Being told that the seminary is the best place to discern, I began serious consideration of applying. I realized that I must not be perfect to enter, but rather I must be open to becoming perfect, to allowing the Lord to work on me and make me into the man I was called to be, living out whichever vocation He might will for me. With this pressure removed, and my excitement for the possibility of studying in the seminary growing, I applied and was accepted by the Diocese for the college seminary at Douglaston, New York—Cathedral Seminary House of Formation. A year and a half into my formation, my discernment of my vocation has led me to a deeper faith, a fuller understanding of the priesthood, and a greater confidence in the path I am on. I thank God for the graces I have received in my life and for the many blessings that have brought me to where I am today; I continue to pray for an increase in answered vocations in the Diocese of Syracuse, that more young men who are called by God to the priesthood might grow in faith and humility so as to be able to answer the Lord’s Call

Cornelius Deep

It is always interesting to read about one particular moment in which someone then realized what their vocation was, but, for me, it was more of a gradual “knocking at the door.” Growing up, I was involved in my parish as an altar server, part of the youth group, sacristan, and also attended the local catholic school. I also had great priest role models in my life. So, it was natural for the priesthood to be on my mind since I was little. However, it would come and go as I would acknowledge that I might have a vocation to the priesthood, but I wanted to push it away and pursue other things. During the beginning of my Senior year of high school, when I was deciding on what colleges I was going to apply to, by the grace of God, I came across The Catholic University of America in Washington DC. I immediately fell in love when I visited because it was what I was looking for deep down: a chance to be able to really deepen my faith life as well as receive a great education. It was during my freshman year of college at Catholic U that I began to come to terms that God was calling me to the priesthood, and I was beginning to accept this in my heart. During my four years at CUA, I really flourished in my prayer life by attending daily Mass, praying the rosary daily, spiritual direction, and adoration. All of this helped my will conform to God’s will. I am tremendously blessed to be able to study for the priesthood at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary seeking to grow in the four dimensions of formation: spiritual, intellectual, human, and pastoral. Lastly, my one piece of advice for anyone discerning a religious vocation is to spend time in silent prayer because it is only when we step away from the business of the world that we can hear the soft voice of God.

Douglas Villanella

The first inclination of me being a priest came to me around the age of five. Afterwards,
most of my thoughts and actions revolved around this idea. I often “played” Mass with siblings
and other catholic family friends, and was always the priest. My mother even made small
vestments for me. This idea stuck with me throughout all of my childhood; it was all I wanted to
do when I grew up.

I was blessed to grow up in a household where our faith was strong and was definitely
our top priority. We always went to Mass when it was required, and we frequented to
sacraments. My desire for the priesthood remained throughout my childhood, but wasn’t
necessarily the first thing on my mind for about two years in my early teens. I still wanted it, I
was just less passionate about it , and discerned other possibilities to rule them out.

When I was close to turning 18, my parents told me that I had to start figuring out what I
was going to do with my life. So my first thought was, “Priesthood, but should I go to a religious
order, or the diocese?” After doing some research and praying for clarity, I decided to call the
diocese. This was where my heart was pulling me so I started the process for this path, and here I
am!

In my year of discernment before entering the seminary, and in my first few months as a
seminarian, I have found it spiritually enriching and I have learned a lot about myself, and the
call to the priesthood. I feel very blessed and honored to discern such a marvelous vocation as
the priesthood.

Thanks be to God and our Blessed Mother!
Douglas Villanella

Gianni Verginio

For as long as I can remember I have always thought of the priesthood. My grandma played a huge role in my discernment. She always brought me to mass as a child and she would always sit me down and teach me about the teachings of the church and the Bible. I was always excited as a child to learn more about my faith and God. That was one of the many things I looked forward to when going to my grandmas house. As I got older that part of my discernment carried over to my later years in middle school. Where I joined a youth group first started by Father Jamie Schultz. Father Shultz played a huge role in my discernment because he pushed me to be apart of youth group and to become an alter server.Being an alter server is such a blessing in my life! When I grew even older going into my early years of highschool I fell away from my faith for a little bit. I was not as hyped up to go to mass, it felt like a burden to me and I just felt like God was getting in the way of me wanting to do my own thing. At the end of my freshman year of highschool my parish, Sacred Heart church in Cicero, got a new pastor, Father Richard Prior. He came up to me one day and told me I have to go on this week long leadership retreat conference. At first I thought to myself ” I am not a leader, I am way too shy and awkward to be one.” And he continued to ask me every time I saw him, so I said ” Ok I will go.” The retreat was awesome! The whole week was amazing! I never experienced God’s love and mercy in such a way before! And in this retreat,God reaffirmed my vocation to becoming a priest. This retreat played such a huge role in my later years of discernment and it was all because Father Prior pushed me. As I went deeper into my years of highschool I continued to pray and discern and follow God’s path for me. I continued to go on youth group retreats, Steubenville conferences and more. I made some great friends along the way who have helped me out in my discernment. Such as one of my brother seminarians, Carlos Gonzalez. He continues to help me out in my discernment by constantly being there for me when I need it the most and just being an overall great friend. This has been one heck of a journey and it is just getting started.

Pawel Zmija

I was born and grew up in Poland. The first thoughts of my becoming a priest appeared in my childhood. My parents raised me in a Catholic family in which God was the highest value. My mother and grandmother ensured that my sister and I lived life according to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. I am very grateful for that. In the Holy Trinity parish in Katowice – Kostuchna, under the watchful eye of the Pastor, Father Stanislaw Res, I was forming my character. I served as an altar server and in other capacities in parish life in general. As I reached the following ranks in my formation, I learned responsibility, diligence, and service to others. I served as an animator of the altar boys in our parish and I was a member of the Living Rosary, the Secular Franciscan Order, and the Brotherhood of St. Joseph. I often led prayers and conferences. I also had the opportunity to serve as a sacristan in my parish.

High school was a time for me to make decisions about my future. I was interested in issues related to social sciences and political. However, the desire to devote my life to priestly ministry was getting stronger. I began seriously considering choosing the priesthood. Even though it was a challenging thought, I wanted to enter the seminary in the hope of reaffirming the discernment. I did not feel any pressure to go there, and no one forced me to make this decision. I spent many hours in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The priests, especially Father Stanislaw Res and Parochial Vicars working in the parish, were very helpful in recognizing my calling and prayed in my intentions. I finally entrusted everything to God and made the decision.

After joining the Higher Silesian Theological Seminary in Katowice, I spent a propaedeutic year praying and further discerning my vocation. During the following four years, I developed all aspects of my formation: human, intellectual, theological, pastoral. I had the opportunity to have a weekly conversation with my Spiritual Director, who guided and directed me towards understanding what I wanted to do in my life. Further realization of my aims came during a three-month apprenticeship at the nursing home, where I helped the elderly who suffered from Alzheimer’s or dementia. I also had opportunity to teach religion in prison and detention center. This lasting, valuable experience made me realize that I wanted to support my fellow brothers and sisters in God – not only with prayers but also on a practical level.

I was admitted to the Seminary in Katowice, where I spent four years, two of which were in Philosophy and the next two in Theology. Simultaneously, I studied Pastoral Theology at the Faculty of Theology at the University of Silesia.

After applying to St. Cyril and Methodius Seminary, I have spent a year in a satellite Seminary in Krakow, learning English as a second language and continuing my spiritual formation. I arrived in Orchard Lake on August 17, 2020. I joined the Diocese of Syracuse a few months ago.

At the present moment, I’m in my Pastoral Assignment at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Syracuse and in the next academic year will resume my theological studies at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore.

Pray for Vocations!

Matthew Assaf

I grew up in a very Catholic family. I attended Catholic Schools my whole life and I always enjoyed church. I remember regularly being encouraged to consider the priesthood growing up by family and friends alike I was always involved in youth groups and volunteer opportunities throughout highschool and college and my faith came to be something I cherished deeply. There were a few times throughout my years at Le Moyne College that I had thought about the seminary, but I wasn’t willing to make that leap by the time I graduated. Instead I moved to Madison, Wisconsin to work with a tech company that was one of the few places still hiring during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

In Wisconsin my faith was challenged and changed for the better. Facing more isolation than I ever had before because of the pandemic, I turned more often to prayer. I started to regularly pray the Divine Office, read more from scripture, and most importantly I took time in silence. It started as just an attempt to put away my phone and turn off the TV for 15 minutes a day but it led to a peace and trust that my relationship with God had been lacking. I started to rely on God in a way I never had before.

Putting away all those distractions even just for a few minutes was beautiful. It helped me come to a better understanding of how I should be discerning the Priesthood. That it shouldn’t be considered out of a fear of not living up to expectations set by family or friends. That it shouldn’t be something that I treat as a backup plan if nothing else works out. Rather it needed to be something that I wanted, that I was freely and joyfully choosing, and a call that I could lovingly accept. After some time it became clear to me that I wanted to be a priest, that I wanted to go to Seminary, that I wanted to serve the people of God in this way, and I felt like God was calling me to this.

I am excited to begin this journey to the Priesthood, and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for my life!

Jonathan Hoole

While I was in high school there were a lot of different career choices I was thinking about. It was hard for me to really narrow it down. I thought law was fascinating, so I wanted to be a lawyer. Flying planes seems so amazing, maybe I want to be a pilot. Or maybe I want to be a teacher and share my love for history with others. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do until my junior year of high school.

During my junior year I decided to teach Confirmation classes for my parish at Our Lady of Lourdes. I loved it! I felt that being someone who is close in age to these confirmands helped me connect to them and where they were in their faith life. I decided that year when I graduated high school I would major in Adolescent Education and emphasize in history to become a high school history teacher!

After I had graduated my senior year of high school, I went on a retreat called Notre Dame Vision at Notre Dame University. It was a week-long retreat that I had been to before, each time it felt more and more amazing to me! Well, I don’t know what happened but this year something really touched me. I went back home changed by it. I was on fire with God’s love.

I still wanted to teach but maybe be a brother. Father Dennis Walker was there at the time as a seminarian, so I had asked him about being a priest and how it differs from being a brother. I also asked my amazing pastor Father Joe Salerno about priesthood, what it’s about and where do I go to pursue it if I am called. After talking with him along with many meetings with the Fisherman’s Club with Father Jason Hage and Father Nathan Brooks, I decided that I wanted to be a priest during my first year of undergraduate!

I would apply to seminary the start of my second year in undergraduate, now I am here studying in seminary! It has been an amazing journey so far. Between the retreats, meeting so many priests, discerners, and seminarians it has been a life changing experience I have been graced with.

The amount of people, saints, and priests I can thank in my story is countless. I would like to thank everyone for helping me discern especially my parents, brother, my pastor Father Joe Salerno, Mark Ranieri, everyone who is/was a part of the Fisherman’s Club, and most of all God for inspiring and answering my prayers to be more like Jesus Christ every day!

“Be God’s Love!”

Our Seminarians

Click on the image to meet our seminarians. To download the latest vocation poster, click here.

3rd Theology

Holy Family, Syracuse

Theological College

Pastoral Year

St. Paul, Whitesboro

St. Peter/St. Mary

2nd Theology

Holy Family, Syracuse

Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary

2nd Theology

St. Patrick, Binghamton

St. Mary’s Seminary

1st Theology Our Lady of Lourdes, Utica

Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary

College IV

St. Mary’s Binghamton

Cathedral Seminary Residence of the Immaculate Conception

College III

Sacred Heart, Cicero

Cathedral Seminary Residence of the Immaculate Conception

Pastoral Year

Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Pre-TheologyHoly Family, Syracuse

St. Mary's Seminary

College I

Our Lady of Lourdes, Utica

Cathedral Seminary Residenc

We appreciate your continued prayers.

Have Questions?

James Buttner

Benjamin Schrantz

John Brusa III

Joseph Ryan

Cornelius Deep

Douglas Villanella

Gianni Verginio

Pawel Zmija

Matthew Assaf

Jonathan Hoole

1st Theology
Our Lady of Lourdes, Utica

Pre-Theology
Holy Family, Syracuse