Married Life

Religious Life

The Diaconate

Meet our seminarians

Seminarians in the Archdiocese of Seattle have begun their journey toward the priesthood. Please pray for these men as they continue on their path of formation and discernment.

#thinkingpriesthood

There are a variety of ways to help support our seminarians! Read below to learn more about the 14 men currently in our program. We invite you to participate as you are able: Donate to the seminarian education fund, download the mailing list and send letters of encouragement, keep them in your daily prayers, join an organization that supports seminarians such as Crozier Society, Serra Club, Catholic Daughters, or Knights of Columbus, and invite other young men in your parish or family to consider a vocation to the priesthood, encouraging them to pray about it. (Clicking below on "Seminarian Education Fund" will take you to our Crozier Society donation page; you do not need to be a member to contribute to the fund.)

Please keep Grant Habersetzer, Erick Johns, and Maliko Madden in your prayers as they continue their vocational discernment outside of the seminarian program.

Seminarian Education Fund

About our seminarians: 2022-23 school year

Mailing list: 2022-23 school year

Dcn. Sylvester Chanda

Theology IV
Mount Angel Seminary

Home parish:
St. Benedict, Seattle

Born and raised in Lusaka, Zambia, after high school Sylvester joined the religious congregation of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI). He completed a Bachelor of Philosophy and a year of theology before leaving religious life to discern a diocesan vocation.

God willing, as a priest, Sylvester looks forward to serving the people of the Archdiocese of Seattle through word and sacrament. He is grateful to the priests and the people of God for their continued prayers and support.

Sylvester will be ordained a deacon on June 4, 2022.

David Do

College III
Mount Angel Seminary

Home parish:
St. Mary, Marysville

The oldest of three, David grew up in a Catholic family. He was an altar server from 2nd grade through senior year, and then became the parish pianist. Participating in the Mass, David feels the presence of God’s love
and a true sense of joy and desire to serve others and bring people closer to Christ.

Since the pandemic began, David felt God calling him on a new path so he prayed more asking God to help him understand His will. After over a year and a half of careful discernment, David became a seminarian this year and is grateful for everyone’s continued prayers as he enters seminary.

Nathan Hatch

College II
Mount Angel Seminary

Home parish:
St. Anthony, Renton

Nathan was born the fourth of eight children and was raised in Renton. He started taking his faith seriously after he began visiting the Blessed Sacrament in adoration. Since then he has been trying to follow God’s will for his life. So far, that has led him to continue his discernment in college seminary, beginning in the Fall of 2021.

Evan MacKenzie

College IV
Bishop White Seminary

Home parish:
Holy Redeemer, Vancouver

A parishioner at Holy Redeemer for 10years, Evan is an active young adult in the parish community and loves spending time serving others.

It is with great joy that he began his formation as a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Seattle in the fall of 2020 at Bishop White Seminary. He is grateful for those who have been praying for him and helped him get to where he is today. He asks for continued prayers as he begins this next phase of his discernment. Praise and glory to Christ our Savior and his Blessed Mother.

Patrick Gitau Mbuiyu

Theology I
Mount Angel Seminary

Home parish:
Holy Spirit, Kent

The first of two children in his family, Patrick was born and raised in the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya.

He was initiated into the Catholic faith at a young age and went on to lovingly serve the youth of his parish and the Pontifical Missionary Children of the Archdiocese of Nairobi as their chairperson and advocate.

In his free time, if he is not singing he is playing soccer.

Maximiliano Muñoz

Theology III
Mount Angel Seminary

Home parish:
St. Benedict, Seattle

Max was born and raised in Chile. Completing a degree in philosophy, he worked as a high school teacher of philosophy and religious studies while discerning a diocesan and missionary vocation to the priesthood. Deeply touched by the charism of Blessed Charles de Foucauld, after a providential meeting in Santiago de Chile with Father Ronald Belisle, Max was invited to the Archdiocese of Seattle.

Max enjoys reading philosophy and theology and learning new languages for the service of the Church. He is also an amateur organ player. God willing, Max wants to be a priest close to the people, strengthening parish communities and empowering the leadership of laity. He asks for prayers and gives thanks for the support given by the people throughout the archdiocese.

Richard Ordos

Theology I
Mount Angel Seminary

Home parish:
St. Michael, Olympia

Richard was born the youngest of six children in Olympia. He attended St. Michael Parish for his entire youth and early adulthood. Much of his time there was spent as an altar server and participating in youth groups.

Homeschooled from kindergarten through middle school, Richard attended Avanti High School and took classes at South Puget Sound College through the Running Start program. After receiving his high school diploma and associate's degree, he attended St. Martin's University and obtained a bachelor's degree in social work.

Richard enjoys camping, hiking and generally being outdoors. He also spends his time reading and learning the basics of guitar and piano. He looks forward to following the gentle and persistent call of Jesus within his life.

Kyle Rink

Theology III
Mundelein Seminary

Home parish:
All Saints, Puyallup

Kyle was born in Boston into a family of musicians and teachers. He spent his childhood in Puyallup, where he grew up with two younger siblings and a large extended family. He attended All Saints and was active in religious education and youth group. After graduating from Emerald Ridge High School, he went to Boise State to study civil engineering and play trumpet in the marching band. He was involved at St. Paul's Catholic Student Center and became a student leader. It was there that he first discerned a call to the priesthood. After graduating with a B.S. in civil engineering, he continued discernment while working as an engineer.

Kyle enjoys soccer, exploring the Oregon Cascades and growing closer to Christ.

Sylvester Rozario

Theology I
Mount Angel Seminary

Home parish:
St. Stephen the Martyr, Renton

Sylvester grew up in the South Indian city of Chennai, close to where St. Thomas the Apostle was martyred. He was deeply influenced by his family’s Catholic faith and the Salesian priests at Don Bosco School in Chennai. He has a bachelor’s in electrical and electronics engineering and a master’s in bioengineering. After graduation he worked in health care and education.

Over the years Divine Providence has been a constant part of his life and continues to shape his vocation journey. He credits adoration, the Holy Family and the loving support of his spiritual family at St. Stephen the Martyr as being crucial to his discernment. During his time at seminary, he seeks to grow in his relationship with the Holy Trinity. He feels blessed to receive God’s call and is excited to journey with God.

Miguel Smith

Pre-Theology II
Mount Angel Seminary

Home parish:
St. James Cathedral, Seattle

Born and raised in Seattle, Miguel is the middle child of two sisters. After time away from the Church, he felt called to return to the faith and found his home at St. James, where he was confirmed and serves as an alter server and distributes communion to the homebound and hospitalized. Miguel’s desire to be a priest comes from the inspiration of seeing his parish priest preside with great love and joy.

Miguel enjoys traveling, soccer, and hiking. He is grateful for everyone’s encouragement and prayers as he continues to say “yes” to God’s will, and looks forward to bringing Christ to people and people to Christ.

Simon Stehr

Theology I
Mundelein Seminary

Home parish:
St. Joseph, Chehalis

Simon was born and raised as a parishioner of St. Joseph in Chehalis. The second among five siblings, he was homeschooled before attending Centralia College as a Running Start student, where he graduated with an associate's degree in 2019. Growing up, Simon was active in his parish as an altar boy and a youth group participant. He later became the pianist/organist for both St. Mary, Centralia, and St. Joseph, Chehalis.

Some of his favorite activities include speech and debate, playing sports like soccer and frisbee, and piano. He is also passionate about the pro-life movement and was president of the Students for Life Club at Centralia College for two years. Simon began to sense a steady call to the priesthood in his early teenage years, and is grateful for the opportunity to discern God’s will in seminary.

Joseph Tapia-Beeman

Pastoral Year
St. Luke, Shoreline

Home parish:
St. Stephen the Martyr, Renton

A member of St. Stephen the Martyr Parish, Joseph attended St. Anthony School in Renton and Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien. He began his journey as a seminarian right after high school, studying at Bishop White at Gonzaga University.

An avid musician, Joseph plays the piano and is now learning how to play the organ. He also enjoys making his own versions of music pieces in his free time. Joseph’s love for the priesthood largely came through his time as an altar server, which began in 2007, and eagerly continues today.

Dcn. John P. Tomassi

Theology IV
Mundelein Seminary

Home parish:
Holy Redeemer, Vancouver

Born fourth out of five children, John Paul grew up in Camas and attended Camas High School and then Seton Catholic High School, before graduating in 2013. He then went on to attended Bishop White Seminary at Gonzaga University.

Currently, John Paul loves music, especially singing, coffee, the occasional swim and spending time with the seminary community.

John Paul was ordained a deacon on May 21, 2022.

Fred Tucker

College IV
Mount Angel Seminary

Home parish:
Our Lady Star of the Sea Bremerton

Fred was born the seventh of eleven children to a Protestant minister. After completing his homeschool education, Fred joined the Navy where he served as a Nuclear Machinist’s Mate for nine years. He converted to Catholicism in 2016, and served as a Sacristan, Lector, and Extraordinary Minister at St. Mary Star of the Sea in Port Townsend and later as an altar server at Our Lady Star of the Sea in Bremerton.

Fred spends his free time riding his motorcycle, hiking, and fishing. He is excited to continue discerning his vocation at seminary.

Seminary life

Meet our seminarians

Meet our priests

NOTE: We do not sponsor or accept anyone from outside the Archdiocese of Seattle. Applicants for seminary will be considered after living in the area on their own for at least two years.

“Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

~ Matthew 28:20