A Mass was offered on June 1, 2026 for all seminarians that they will grow in holiness and lead us all in love. Every month, we have a Mass offered for this intention. As our seminarians will be the future shepherds and our children are their future flock, it seemed a beautiful way for the children to help with their prayers. It is our goal to feature a different seminarian on the first of the month every month by inviting him to share something of himself and giving all our readers the opportunity to pray for him. This month, we are featuring Zachary Phelps, a seminarian from the Archdiocese of Hartford (shown above). He has been assisting in the home parish for the Children's Rosary in West Hartford, Connecticut.
"My name is Zachary Phelps and I am a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Hartford. When I was young, I would have pretend Mass in my kitchen and ask my mom questions about the priesthood. But for quite a while, I lost interest in the priesthood, but God did not lose interest in calling me. I remember being at a conference and in a time of prayer hearing the word “priest” in my mind and I wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. I wanted to be like everybody else by getting married and having a family. Even with my initial and stubborn “no”, God did not give up so easily. He kept gently and lovingly reminding me that this was something he wanted me to pursue. Through friends, random people, and my own prayer, God would slightly tap me on the shoulder, reminding me of this call.
After graduating college, a major shift happened. I started attending a group called Crossroads for Christ. This was a group of young adults who spent time discussing the faith, growing in fellowship, and most importantly spending time together in Adoration with our Lord present in the Eucharist. I believe that in many ways through this group, the Lord fostered and nurtured my call and softened my heart to want to say “yes” to his plan for my life. I even remember praying for God to align my desires with his desires. Over time, becoming a priest became a burning desire of my heart, sometimes bringing me to tears. The Holy Spirit gave me the courage to take that first step and call the vocations office.
That was just over two years ago. Now I will be headed to Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in the fall. The journey of discernment has been quite an interesting one, but one that has been so beautiful and healing for me. The Lord has done a lot of work in my heart through this process and allowed me to grow closer to him by trusting more deeply in his love and mercy and recognizing that I am a beloved son the Father. This time of my life has helped me tremendously, not only in the hopes of being a good and holy seminarian and priest but just being a good and holy man. This, of course, will be a blessing no matter where the Lord leads me.
I have also grown deeply into a relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our Mother Mary has been such a source of comfort, confidence, and peace. This has come to me especially through the rosary and Marian consecration. I have placed my whole entire vocation into her hands. I placed my whole life there and through her hands everything is offered to God. She has crushed many fears and provided me with help in fighting many evils deterring me from this path. Our Heavenly Father placed Jesus into her hands, so what better place could all my intentions and every part of my heart and life be? The loving gaze and help of this mother that the Lord has provided for me has helped me on my journey and she has shown me a beautiful side of our Lord’s love and heart.
I am so thankful for this wonderful gift and the many blessings the Lord has given me as I have taken steps to hear his voice, listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, try more and more to fully surrender to his will and say “yes” just like Mary did. Because of the way the Lord has shaped my life the past two years, I think every Catholic man should at least ask God about and be open to the call to the priesthood. Being open to God’s will brings many needed graces to be the saints God is calling us to be. I’m so excited for the journey ahead. I know Mary and all my saint friends will be by my side and Jesus, the Good Shepherd will always lead me. Please keep me in your prayers. Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever."
We humbly ask that you please keep Zachary Phelps in your prayers.
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