Formation through Roman Apostolates

REV. DAVID HULSHOF ‘81, DIOCESE OF SPRINGFIELD-CAPE GIRARDEAU

As a seminarian at the North American College from 1977-1981, I worked in three different apostolates. In my first year, I worked alongside the Missionaries of Charity in a soup kitchen and housing facility for men. In this experience, I better understood the plight of the poor. The following year, I visited long-term patients in a public hospital where I grew in the virtue of compassion and attentive listening. Finally, I served as a seminarian and then deacon in an Italian parish, catechizing the high school students and preaching on various Sundays.

All three of these ministerial experiences helped me develop the heart and skills for priestly ministry. Today, as the Coordinator of Apostolic Formation, I visit the seminarians in their different apostolates offering guidance and encouragement. My hope is that I can inspire in this next generation of priests that same loving desire to serve God’s people that I was privileged to experience many years ago. n

Father, I pray my little efforts help to instill a greater sense of love and devotion for Pope Francis that these men can bring home with them. n