Wauwatosa native to be ordained priest

Biography Who: John Girotti What: Ordination to the priesthood When: 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 18 Where: St. Frances Xavier Cathedral, 140 S. Monroe St., Green Bay First Mass: 2 p.m. Sunday, May 19, at Ss. Peter and Paul Church, Green Bay Background: Born Dec. 5, 1975, and raised in Wauwatosa. Home parish: St. Josaphat Basilica, Milwaukee. Post-secondary: Three years at Lawrence University, Appleton, studying music; three years at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md.; two years at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, Ill., near Chicago, degrees in music and theology. Parents: Only child of Margaret Girotti, a full-time mother, and Albert Girotti, a biochemist at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, both of Wauwatosa. E-mail: semperidem@catholic.org Interests: Music, particularly playing cello; restoring old cars; watching old movies; scale model building; and Italian food.

A 10-year-old call heard by a 16-year-old confirmation student will be answered at his ordination this weekend in Green Bay.

Rev. John Girotti

The Rev. Mr. John Girotti, 26, will be ordained by Bp. Robert Banks at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 18, in St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, 140 S. Monroe St., Green Bay. He will celebrate his first Mass at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 19, in Ss. Peter and Paul Church in Green Bay (see "Altar ready for Pentecost Mass").

Girotti said the call to the priesthood began for him after watching a movie, A Man For All Seasons, about St. Thomas More at his confirmation retreat.

"(The movie) made a big impact on me," he said. "I knew God was calling me to something."

Five years later, at age 21 and after three years of college, he realized he did not fit in at Lawrence University in Appleton, despite his new love for northeastern Wisconsin and the excellent education he said he was receiving. Girotti attributes this to a growing call toward the priesthood.

"A call would be much easier to discern if God just dropped a brick with a note attached through your window that said, 'John, become a priest.' It's not that easy," he said. "It's a gut feeling that comes and goes, but for me it never completely went away. It's very mysterious, the way it works."

Girotti said he recalls walking around Appleton at midnight praying and asking God what he should do.

"The call really started to bug me a bit, and finally I knew I had to do something. I told God, 'I'll give it (the seminary) one year,' and it turned into five," he said.

Girotti said these have been the best years of his life, "Eventually, it was the seminary that brought me peace. I advise people that that's where you find your call: Where you find true peace. There, you'll also find God."

Girotti cites the charity and brotherhood of the seminary as highlights of his experience there.

"The charity among all of us living the same type of life, praying and discerning at the same time about the same vocation, learning to love everyone like Christ did and becoming Christian gentlemen; that's what means the most," he said. "More specifically, I'm one of the youngest guys; 26 is the traditional age to be ordained, but now more seminarians are in their 30s, even 40s and 50s. There could be a 50-year-old man from Africa, a 40-year-old from Vietnam and a 25-year-old from Georgia, and they all took me in right away. It didn't matter where you were from or how old you were, we were all equals. That acceptance and brotherhood I'll never forget."

Even with everything he learned at the seminary, Girotti feels there is no comparison to "just getting out there and doing it," which is why he is so excited for Saturday's ordination.

"It's a different time to be ordained, a difficult time," he said. "But, and I think I can speak for most of my fellow seminarians, the current (sexual abuse crisis) doesn't deter us; it actually strengthens our vocation. The church and the world need good priests now more than ever, and we hope to be those priests. It humbles us, as it humbles anyone, but it makes us stronger in our call, because we know there is such a need."

Despite the difficulties of being a priest today, Girotti is optimistic for the future of the priesthood.

"Based on my experience at the seminary and the young men I've met and worked with, I'm very optimistic for an increase in vocations to the priesthood," he said. "There are so many good men at the seminary right now, guys who can't wait to get out and serve the people."

Teaching religion to a culture that he feels is growing more and more distant from any type of faith is what Girotti is most looking forward to as he enters the priesthood, especially through expanding catechetical programs.

"I want to teach families and children what the church teaches, what Christ teaches," he said. "I want to help people to know their faith."