In addition to serving as pastor of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Metairie, Fr. Andrew Taormina is one of three co-chaplains for the Legatus’ New Orleans Chapter. Ordained at his hometown parish of Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church in 1962 by Bishop Louis Caillouet, “Father T” also has the unique distinction of having earned a law degree. For over 20 years, he practiced criminal law and also served as chairman for the local civil parish’s Indigent Defense Board. He spoke to Legatus’ editorial assistant Tim Drake.

Father Stephen Parkes grew up with two older brothers and became one of two priests in his family. His brother, Gregory Parkes, serves as bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee. Father Parkes is pastor to 3,700 families at Annunciation Catholic Church north of Orlando and has a background and education in business and marketing. In addition to his pastoral work and chaplaincy duties with Legatus’ Orlando Chapter, Fr. Parkes is vicar forane (dean) to approximately 35 priests in 14 parishes and serves on the Diocese of Orlando’s presbyteral council. He spoke to Legatus magazine’s editorial assistant Tim Drake.

Father Rick Stansberry grew up Episcopalian. His parents divorced when he was 12, and he converted to Catholicism as a teenager — much to the disappointment of his parents. After becoming an accountant, he attended seminary and was ordained in 1992. He was later able to confirm his own mother! In addition to serving as pastor of Christ the King parish and judicial vicar for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, Fr. Stansberry is the chaplain of Legatus’ newest chapter. Members began meeting in July and the chapter will charter on Dec. 10. Father Stansberry spoke with Legatus magazine’s editorial assistant Tim Drake.

Originally ordained as a religious order priest with the Italian Oblates of the Virgin Mary, Fr. Mark Bauer now serves as pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church in Caledonia, Mich., in the Diocese of Grand Rapids. He enjoys reading history and deer hunting. When he’s not hunting for venison, the 56-year-old priest is hunting for souls — especially in his role as chaplain for Legatus’ Grand Rapids Chapter. He said he enjoys serving as the chapter’s spiritual guide and would like to see the reinstituted chapter grow. He spoke with Legatus magazine’s editorial assistant Tim Drake.

Pastor of St. Thomas More Catholic Parish and St. Veronica Chapel in Narragansett, R.I., Fr. Marcel Taillon, 49, cherishes the “loyalty and spiritual friendship” among Providence Legates. Pivotal to his priesthood were the nuns of his youth. One, now 95, was the parish cook. “Every Sunday between Masses she would teach me a Thomistic virtue,” he remembers. “Hers was a hidden apostolate, but powerful. And, oh, her doughnuts!” She and other sisters told him he had a vocation. It wasn’t until he was a traveling businessman, however, that “everything sort of fermented.”

His father’s job forced the relocation of Fr. Michael Deering’s family from the South Side of Chicago to the Deep South when he was in his late teens. And he has dropped deep roots in Alabama. His degree in electrical engineering from Auburn equipped him for a longtime job in sales for Eastman Kodak. But the priesthood called, and he was ordained in 2002 at the age of 49. Today, Fr. Deering is pastor of two parishes and co-vicar general. He considers his Legatus chaplain role “not a duty, but a delight.”

Likening himself to a circus plate-spinner, Fr. John Love serves as pastor of St. Mark’s University Roman Catholic Church in Isla Vista, Calif. The parish is “essentially a Newman Center, but with the canonical status of a parish.” He’s also a chaplain for Legatus, the Order of Malta, and the Air National Guard. “My interest in helping military personnel to find God derives from my family’s military tradition,” says this son of an Army surgeon. Of his vocational plate-spinning act, he says, “Through the grace of God, a plate has yet to fall!”

Hailing from a small town in Kansas north of Wichita, Fr. Aaron Vinduska’s blood does not run green, but now he calls the Emerald Isle home. Again. He spent two years in novitiate there before taking a “worldwide tour” along the priestly path, having spent time in Spain, Italy, then back in the States and Canada. In addition to serving as Legatus chaplain, he is director of Dublin’s Faith and Family Centre, which provides retreats, formation courses, and youth activities directed toward leavening Irish society one soul at a time.

Father Charles (“Chas”) Canoy once worked for Legatus, but he began discerning his priestly calling long before that. While working as a marketer for General Mills, he says, “God began nudging me toward a vocation that would not market Cheerios anymore, but would promote something that satisfies the hunger of the soul instead of the stomach.” Passionate about the New Evangelization (check out his YouTube channel), the Lansing diocesan priest tries to instill that passion in Legates as well as seminarians at Detroit’s Sacred Heart Major Seminary, where he teaches and is associate director for undergraduate formation.

It’s a long way to Tipperary, but Fr. John Sherlock “feels very much at home” in Kansas. After beginning his priesthood with the Legionaries of Christ — serving in Mexico and Spain — he was incardinated in the Wichita diocese in 1981. “The Legionaries had their apostolate, and it was very concrete. But I felt I had to be more among the people, the regular Joes in the parishes,” explains the rector of Wichita’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. In Kansas, his cups of Joe “runneth over” with earthy good sense tipped heavenward.

Father Daniel Firmin, 35, carries a big load: diocesan chancellor and vicar general — and chaplain to three Catholic groups, including Legatus. However, the burden is light: “I keep St. Teresa of Avila’s advice close to my heart: ‘Let nothing disturb you, knowing God is in control.’” He credits his parents for encouraging his vocation. Before marrying and pursuing a call to serve the poor, both had discerned a religious vocation. Their willingness to let God lead gave the second of their seven children the courage to answer his own call.

Father Thomas Blau, OP, is on fire with the faith and loves working with other ardent Catholics. “It’s very uplifting for me, and I look forward to continuing to work with and know better the members of Legatus,” says the 51-year-old Cleveland native. He credits his parents for first encouraging his vocation through their strong Catholic example. Another fruit of their faith is the size of their brood: eight children. Father Blau counts himself blessed to be lucky No. 7. He spoke to Legatus’ editorial assistant Matthew A. Rarey.

Fr. Tony Marti’s life has been a Cuban-American odyssey — escaping Fidel Castro in 1962, going to a U.S. college, serving as an Army medic, marrying, and enjoying a career as an international banker. After his wife died, the father of one (now grandfather of two) eventually answered a new calling as a Capuchin Franciscan. Today he serves as president of St. Francis High School near Pasadena, ministering to a large “family” that includes members of Legatus. He spoke to Legatus magazine’s editorial assistant Matthew Rarey.

For most people, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to allow Catholic priests contracted by the government to voluntarily minister to our troops, including Sunday Mass during a partial government shutdown.

Priestly service is a family tradition for Bishop W. Francis Malooly. After responding early to the call, taking the traditional route of high school seminary prep onward, he was ordained in 1970 by his uncle, Baltimore Auxiliary Bishop Austin Murphy. He has a cousin, also named Austin Murphy, who serves as a priest of the Baltimore archdiocese. Bishop Malooly left Baltimore in 2008 to assume the episcopacy in Wilmington, Del. Like the car ride from Baltimore to Wilmington, it was not long until he encountered Legatus.

After retiring last year as executive director of New Orleans’ archdiocesan Department of Christian Formation, Fr. Neal McDermott, 80, humorously referenced his ancestry: “Irishmen cry at the opening of a Kmart, so if I shed a tear it’s because I’m Irish,” he told colleagues at his going-away party. Fifty-two years a priest and in love with his vocation, Fr. McDermott did not truly retire. He now serves as president of Legate Joseph C. Canizaro’s Donum Dei Foundation, which makes grants to support Catholic education.

After retiring last year as executive director of New Orleans’ archdiocesan Department of Christian Formation, Fr. Neal McDermott, 80, humorously referenced his ancestry: “Irishmen cry at the opening of a Kmart, so if I shed a tear it’s because I’m Irish,” he told colleagues at his going-away party. Fifty-two years a priest and in love with his vocation, Fr. McDermott did not truly retire. He now serves as president of Legate Joseph C. Canizaro’s Donum Dei Foundation, which makes grants to support Catholic education.

Rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Monsignor Arthur F. Valenzano is honored to be Legatus’ chapter chaplain in Baltimore, commonly known as “Charm City” because of its many neighborhoods’ history and unspoiled charm.

Monsignor Steven J. Raica discovered his vocation by serving the church, first as an altar boy at Mass in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, later in a campus parish at Michigan State University. In the early years of his priesthood,

Before becoming the first auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of San Jose in 2011, Bishop Thomas Daly was a priest of the San Francisco archdiocese. After his priestly ordination in 1987, he served as a parish pastor and parochial vicar, as a teacher and campus minister, and later as president of Marin Catholic High School, as a San Francisco Police Department chaplain, and archdiocesan director of vocations. Bishop Daly is a graduate of the University of San Francisco and holds master’s degrees from Boston College and St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, Calif.