Holy Cross priests talk about their reasons and impetus for joining the cloth
By Lauren Seynheave
On April 10, Deacon Gerard Olinger, C.S.C., will be presented to the Bishop of Portland at University of Notre Dame so that he can be ordained a priest of the Holy Cross. On Sunday, April 18, Olinger will give his first Mass at 9 p.m. in the Chapel of Christ the Teacher.
"I felt as a child that this is where God was calling me," he said. "It's telling of a vocation to have passion, joy and happiness, and becoming a priest gives me those feelings."
Many priests at UP have felt a calling toward their vocation since they were children, as Olinger did. Although some current priests did not always know for sure if joining the cloth was the right path for them, their lives were influenced toward God and Holy Cross.
Since he was a young altar boy, Olinger has been interested in what priests do. Although he didn't decide to follow that vocation until after law school, he is happy with his current path. In addition to being an aspiring priest, Olinger is also hall director of Villa Maria Hall.
Sophomores Zack Imfeld and Chris Vennes, who live in Villa Maria Hall, will have the honor of presenting Olinger to the bishop.
"We hang out with him all the time, sometimes talking to him until one in the morning," Vennes, who is Villa Maria treasurer and a receptionist, said. "I've really enjoyed his presence here in the dorm."
Imfeld, also a receptionist and Villa Maria president, agrees.
"He's an absolute stud of a man, so we're going to pour out our love for Deac," he said. "It's always been a dream of mine to go to Notre Dame, and to present a friend of mine is a real treat."
As an undergraduate student at University of Notre Dame, Olinger met priests who inspired him, but he continued with his academic studies and graduated from the law program at Notre Dame in 2004.
"Studying law was academically interesting, but my heart wasn't fully there," he said.
After taking the Pennsylvania bar exam and working with the Right of Christian Institution for Adults, he decided to pursue the path of priesthood. He loved working with RCIA, and Olinger is equally enthusiastic about working with the "Villans."
"I love the true sense of brotherhood here, and it's been shown in ways that have been truly touching to me," he said.
Fr. Charlie McCoy, C.S.C., the pastoral resident of Villa Maria, feels the same way.
"They're great, I feel really privileged to live with those guys," he said. "They have a real passion for life and there's a good balance in that hall of academics, athletics, college antics and faith. Who wouldn't want to be a part of that?"
McCoy, like Olinger, has thought about becoming a priest since he was a child.
"I wanted this on and off since I was a kid," he said. "I remember being at Mass with my parents and sisters, and during the car ride we would argue about the homily, and I thought, 'I want to do that myself.'"
Although the decision to join the cloth was not confirmed in McCoy's mind until after graduate school, the thought always lingered.
"I finished the pre-med program and I thought about being a doctor for a while," he said. But the math professors in McCoy's undergraduate studies convinced him to go to graduate school for math.
"I liked teaching a lot," he said. "Things were at the forefront of my mind, like I'd want to do this regardless of whether I want to be a priest."
After working for a year with Christ's Pregnancy Center, McCoy found that becoming a priest was his calling.
"You have a one on one encounter with someone who was honest about a situation and was looking for help," McCoy said. "Priests do that a whole lot, and I wanted to do it too. Someone really opens up their heart, and you can be a good presence in their life, which can influence you."
In the end, Holy Cross Congregation captured McCoy's attention because of the combination of teaching and service.
He loves serving at UP because of the great sense of family and love, especially during Mass. Sharing the sacrament of God's forgiveness during confession is one of his favorite parts about being a priest.
"This is a school very much on the rise, and it's only got great places to go," he said. "To be at a place where you're already proud, I would feel very blessed to spend the huge majority of my life as a priest and professor here at UP."
Director of Campus Ministry Fr. Gary Chamberland, C.S.C., agrees that UP is a great community, and shares McCoy's feelings on confession.
"What priests see, and what I think God sees, is a person striving to be a good person," Chamberland said.
Since his First Communion, Chamberland has thought about being a priest, namely because of the beauty of the church. As an altar boy, he loved participating in Mass and he enjoyed the liturgy.
After he finished his B.A. at Notre Dame, he spent one year with the Holy Cross Association, and taught inter-city grade school. But before he was ordained as a deacon, he left for five years.
"I was afraid of the commitment," he said.
Chamberland spent two years teaching grade school and then the next three as the hall director of Shipstad Hall at UP.
It was in Shipstad that Chamberland realized that becoming a priest truly was his calling.
"I was praying, asking God what I should be doing with my life," he said. "And I felt, I heard, that I need to be a priest, which wasn't a happy moment for me. I said I'd done this, I'd been down that road, but I eventually accepted it."
After spending two years in a South Bend parish as a seminarian and one year as a deacon, Chamberland was ordained a priest of Holy Cross Congregation on April 18, 1998.
Since overcoming his fears, Chamberland has enjoyed his vocation a great deal.
"People invite you into the most personal moments of their lives, and we remind them and help them see where God is in those moments," he said. "It's a joy to be here."