Hometown: La Grange Park, IL
Year in Formation: Temporarily Professed – 2nd Year of Vows
High School: Fenwick High School (Oak Park, IL), 2016
College: University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN), 2020
College Major: Environmental Engineering
Previous Jobs: Summer Camp Counselor, Student Researcher
Patron Saint: Andrew the Apostle
Favorite Movie: The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Tenet, The Star Wars
Favorite Books: Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson, The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen
Favorite Music: Built By Titan, Fitz and the Tantrums, A R I Z O N A
Hobbies: Board games, cycling, hiking & backpacking, playing the clarinet and (trying to play) the piano, writing
Favorite Way to Pray: Taking a walk with Jesus as I would with any friend of mine
Favorite Devotion: The Sacred Heart of Jesus
What drew you to Holy Cross: Blessed Basil Moreau’s spirituality (trust in divine providence and confidence in the Cross as our only hope), Holy Cross’ passion to educate the entire person, and the incredible men who constantly support me and challenge me as I grow closer to Jesus.
Your Vocation Story: In 2015, I hiked and backpacked through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico with 80 other men and women discerning the priesthood or religious life. The Keough Hall community — especially Fr. Pat Reidy, CSC, Fr. Nate Wills, CSC, and Fr. Brogan Ryan, CSC — were immensely important to encouraging my relationship with Jesus. I was certain of my Christian vocation of discipleship and service, but I had always followed my own plan: become an environmental engineer and have a wonderful family. The summer before my senior year, Fr. Brogan and I had a really important conversation: “Andrew,” he said, “you will never have 100% certainty about anything, especially not your vocation. At some point, you have to take a leap and trust that you’ve listened to God’s invitation long enough to say ‘Yes!'” I finally found my need in prayer: to listen for God’s plan. Once I began to listen, God kept prompting me back to religious life. I went on the undergraduate discernment retreat at Moreau Seminary, read the Holy Cross Constitutions for the first time, and I felt a burst of love and encouragement from God to apply to the Postulant Program.
Ways that you resonate with the Holy Cross charism, “Educators in the Faith”: The Holy Cross standard of educating the whole person is a great testament to both teaching the intellect while also nurturing a growing faith. I have been fortunate to benefit from this holistic education for four years. In particular, studying environmental engineering has been both a challenge and a joy. Especially after taking the course “Faith and Science” in the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, I have been much more able to explain the complementary nature of faith and science and dispel thoughts of their antagonism. It is with the support of the Holy Cross community in classrooms and dorms that these learning breakthroughs can happen and lead to great growth intellectually and spiritually.
One aspect of Holy Cross spirituality that speaks to you the most and why: The emphasis Holy Cross places on the veneration of Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, is especially powerful to me. Mary’s love and commitment to God is inspiring to me. Mary was totally open to God’s invitation to become the Mother of God; I hope to follow this vocation with a similarly open heart, willing to follow wherever God might lead.
Favorite Verse: “in this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.” – 1 John 4:10-12
Favorite Quote: “And that’s what the spiritual life is — climbing the ladder of love, with the help and prod of grace, to that summit where we can be happy living with Love itself, forever.” – George Weigel, Letters to a Young Catholic
Favorite Bl. Basil or St. André Quote: “We will live so that our faith might be so simple, so strong and lively that it not only enlightens the spirit but also inspires our thoughts, feelings, words, and actions.” -Blessed Basil Moreau
How can visitors to this page pray for you? Please pray that I may increasingly see the face of Christ in everyone I meet.