Priestly Ordinations
June 7, 2013
Deacon Renaurd West
Fourth Year Theology
Mount St. Mary’s Seminary
16300 Old Emmitsburg Road
Emmitsburg, Maryland 21727-7797
Birthday: February 5
Home Parish: Stella Maris, Sullivan’s Island
Deacon West’s decision to become a priest was a difficult one since he was the only practicing Catholic in his family. He attended various churches as a child, but religion was never predominant in his house. At age 15 he felt the pull to attend church again and he attended a Sunday Mass with his father. At that moment he felt the pull of God’s grace and joined the RCIA class the following week. Deacon West was received into the Church on Easter 2001 and began to believe that God was calling him to the priesthood. After graduating from Belmont Abbey, he moved to Charleston where he taught at Charleston Catholic School and discerned his vocation.
God willing, Deacon West will be ordained a Priest of Jesus Christ on June 7, 2013, at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Charleston.