Father Patrick Driscoll's vocation journey took many twists, turns

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Father Patrick Driscoll visited with fourth-grade students at Assumption school, and as he spoke he asked them questions. Father Driscoll rewarded what he considered great answers with holy cards.

National Vocation Awareness Week, observed this year Jan. 9-14, is the annual celebration in the United States to promote vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and consecrated life through prayer and education, and to renew prayers and support for those who are considering vocations.

Father Patrick Driscoll's vocation journey took a number of twists and turns -- he was ordained at age 48 -- but one of the key points occurred when a fellow parishioner asked him if he'd consider the priesthood.

Having an older vocation is "a two-edge sword," Father Driscoll said jokingly. "You have experience, and then you have baggage." Not emotional baggage but an accumulation of items and experiences.

Being ordained at a younger age has some advantages, and becoming a priest at an older age does too, with people having an appreciation of "talking to someone who's been around the block," said the priest who is an associate pastor at Assumption Parish in south St. Louis County. "All things being equal, as long as a priest is a good listener, that's what counts."

He noted that he considered the possibility of a vocation when he was an altar boy. The idea later faded.

A California native, he fell into a short stint as an actor in Hollywood -- something he doesn't like to dwell on because "it was just an opportunity that presented itself, and I took it." People seem to make it seem more important than it was to him, he said. His roles included playing a character on an episode of the TV show M.A.S.H. when, ironically, he put a headlock on the actor playing Father Mulchahy.

He went back to school, working himself through college, getting a bachelor's degree in public relations from the School of Journalism at San Jose State University. He sold advertising and worked in public relations with some nonprofit organizations. Active in his parish as a lay acolyte and reader at Mass, he was approached by a parishioner who told him he should think about being a priest.

The idea took hold and he gave the seminary a try, entering and withdrawing a few times. "I never had a strong desire to be a priest but always had a strong desire to do what God wanted me to do. I was always trying to discover that through my own feeble ways and missteps," Father Driscoll said.

His seminary experience didn't take hold until he came to Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in Shrewsbury. "I found it to be a wonderful place filled with talented, well-adjusted men on fire for Christ."

Being ordained a transitional deacon left him realizing "this is what I wanted, a wonderful blessing from Almighty God. I'm indebted to the man who first encouraged me, to priests and laypeople who prayed for me and put up with me, and for now-Cardinal Raymond Burke for entertaining an older vocation."

He was ordained in 2008 with eight other men, another blessing, he said. "We've been getting together regularly, and I consider it a group of men with a plethora of talent in all kinds of fields."

Father Driscoll said he entered the seminary in second year of theology "and they were very welcoming," adding with a laugh, "even though I was the old man."

In his priesthood he has enjoyed the people. "The joy I've been able to experience is beyond imagination -- being God's instrument and letting Him do the work."

At the recent ordination of a a friend to the transitional diaconate in California, he said, the bishop made a remark to the men being ordained: "Let the people love you into your vocation."

For Father Driscoll, "That's been my experience."

He spent three years at St. Clare of Assisi Parish in Ellisville, "a wonderful community and vibrant parish," he said. "I had to send 300 thank-yous when I left."

At Assumption, he appreciates the solid faith of the people in the parish established in 1839. He noted that he had just met a 92-year-old who had been a parishioner since 1945. The parish has had perpetual adoration for 18 years, he added.

He cited one incident that illustrates the faith. The parish cemetery is next to the school and during a burial, a first-grader walked over and knelt down at the fence, calling her two friends over to join her. "The love of God, the faith, the dedication of the people is very inspiring," Father Driscoll said.

He encourages people to consider the religious life or the priesthood and for all to pray for them. "We can make our prayer more powerful by offering sacrifice in union with Christ on the cross for the intentions of our heavenly Father to provide more laborers for the harvest. We are blessed in this archdiocese, but we need more people, especially young women, to respond to God's call."