Welcome Fr. Kyle Poje: Sharing God’s Call & “Adventure of Life” with Our Faith Family

If Fr. Kyle Poje could tell parishioners one thing about himself that they would remember, it’s that he feels very blessed to be a priest. He is so thankful that God called him to the vocation of the priesthood.

Joining us in early July, Fr. Kyle Poje spent the last year studying at Casa Santa Maria in Rome and, before that, attended the Pontifical North American College. He was ordained in May 2021 at St. James Cathedral and returned to Rome for one year of post-seminary education.

With a father in the Air Force, Fr. Kyle Poje and his six siblings moved around a lot throughout the United States, with a stint in Europe. He considers his hometown to be Spanaway. He can’t wait to start here at Saint Michael Parish — this is his second parish assignment, as he spent last summer serving Holy Innocents in Duvall and St. Jude in Redmond.

Although Fr. Kyle Poje has enjoyed his time in Rome, he’s very excited to return to the United States because “home is home.” While in Italy, he did a lot of traveling, including seeing most of the country, along with Ireland, Poland, Croatia, France, Germany, and Portugal. His family came to visit during his second year, but it was challenging for them to go again due to the pandemic.

“It was such a cool opportunity to see the churches of other countries,” he says. “I enjoyed being able to travel.”

Fr. Kyle Poje has some hobbies that most people don’t associate with a priest, including surfing, snowboarding, and skateboarding. He’s been skateboarding since the age of 7 and enjoys the opportunity to meet people through the sport.

“You meet other skateboarders, and you feel like you are on the same social sphere,” he says. “Conversation happens easily, and you meet friends.”

Besides “board” sports, Fr. Kyle Poje enjoys literature, soccer, running, photography and videography. He takes his best advice from two great saints — St. Teresa of Calcutta and St. Thérèse de Lisieux.

“St. Teresa said, ‘Do small things with great love,’” he says. “I think my life’s work is to do this. St. Thérèse spoke similarly as she taught her ‘little way.’ If I could just be like these two, I think my life’s work would be complete.”

Fr. Kyle Poje can’t wait to meet people at SMP and spend time with families. He looks forward to being rooted in community life, especially after living in Rome for five years.

“I believe I have a lot to learn in the priesthood, and I have a lot to learn from other people,” he says. “I’m all-in on the adventure of life that God has called me on. I look forward to sharing it with a great Catholic community.”

If Fr. Kyle Poje could tell parishioners one thing about himself that they would remember, it’s that he feels very blessed to be a priest. He is so thankful that God called him to the vocation of the priesthood.