On May 23, Bishop Erik Pohlmeier will ordain four men to the priesthood for service in the Diocese of St. Augustine. Their paths to the altar have wound through banking, campus ministry, military service and corporate management, but each points to the same turning point: hearing Christ’s invitation and choosing to follow.

Justino Moreno: A Banker’s Journey Back to Christ

At 32, Justino Moreno was a successful banker at Deutsche Bank in Jacksonville and was praying for marriage. Instead, he found himself drawn back to the faith he had left in his early 20s.

A cradle Catholic, Moreno spent years searching elsewhere – exploring Judaism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, nondenominational Christianity and Eastern religions – yet he said he was never satisfied.

He decided to “give the Catholic faith another try.” On a retreat, he went to confession for the first time in seven years. The return, he said, became an encounter with Christ that changed the direction of his life.

“Faith has to be relational. You must have a relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s not enough to just know the faith or know about Jesus,” Moreno said. “It’s not what you do. It’s who you are with Jesus Christ.”

Born in Mexico City, he moved with his family to Topeka, Kansas, at age 8. After high school, he entered banking and earned a degree in economics. He also became involved in Hispanic youth ministry.

In 2014, he relocated to Jacksonville and was ready to settle down. He asked God to help him find a wife, but instead, he said the invitation came clearly in prayer: “Give me a chance.”

Moreno spent the next year discerning and, at 33, applied to seminary.

“My family was surprised but supportive,” he said. “As a first-generation immigrant, some found it hard to understand why I would leave my career.”

His studies at St. John Vianney College Seminary and St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary refined his expectations.

“I thought priests were supposed to do it all – be perfect, be like Jesus. Then I realized I was an instrument who shares in the priesthood of Christ.”

For men considering the priesthood, Moreno emphasizes prayer and speaking with the vocation director.

“Don’t be afraid to enter seminary and discern with the Church,” he said. “You aren’t obliged to stay – and you won’t walk alone. The people of God support you in so many ways.”

Ken Laybourn: A Childhood Call Comes Full Circle

Ken Laybourn traces his vocation to a childhood car ride in Boynton Beach. Passing a gated property with large buildings, he asked his grandfather what it was.

“That’s the seminary where they train priests,” his grandfather told him.

Laybourn’s reply came immediately: “I want to go there when I grow up.”

Laybourn said he thought about becoming many things – a firefighter, a police officer, a military officer, a pilot – but he kept coming back to the priesthood.

“I felt sure I was going to be a priest when I was 7 or 8. I was learning about the faith, going to adoration and Mass. I remember watching the priest. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else,” he said.

He told his parents and grandparents, who were very supportive.

“That made it easier to choose.”

Laybourn said he stepped away from the faith for a few years.

“But it stayed in my heart and was much dearer and more consistent than anything else. It didn’t matter where I was in my faith or what I was doing; Jesus was calling me.”

He earned an English degree at the University of North Florida and worked in campus ministry. After graduation, he entered St. John Vianney Seminary.

“We all mature spiritually on this journey. Being in seminary has deepened and refined my understanding of what it is to be a priest,” Laybourn said. “My heart has expanded to love others in ways I didn’t think I’d be able to.”

Laybourn said any vocation must be nurtured in prayer and intimacy with the Eucharist.

“If you feel like God is calling, you need to have some radical trust,” he said. “Give it a shot and see where it takes you.”

Steven Henderson: Going All In

Steven Henderson said he always knew he wanted to be a father. He just wasn’t sure whether it would be as a parent or a priest.

During the First Gulf War, he enlisted in the Navy and served for six years as a nuclear reactor operator.

Later, he attended Palm Beach Atlantic University, earning an MBA in management, and began a career with AT&T that took him around the world managing projects.

Henderson said he was in his mid-40s when he realized he was being called to the priesthood.

“My mother used to tell me, ‘If something is the right thing to do, it’s always the right thing to do,'” Henderson said.

While walking with his father during his conversion to Catholicism, he said, he couldn’t shake the feeling that God was calling him to the priesthood.

Henderson said he had never heard of second-career vocations, but he began praying seriously and researching the possibility.

“After a year, I thought, I can’t be half in. I had a serious conversation with God. If this is what you want, I’m all in – every good and bad thing about me,” Henderson said.

“From the moment I stepped onto this path, I’ve experienced deep happiness, even on bad days. Everything I’ve done led me to where I am.”

To anyone discerning a vocation, he said, “they owe it to themselves to explore the option. Not everyone who goes to seminary will become a priest, but they’ll come out a better man.”

Stephen Parker: From Finance to Formation

Stephen Parker grew up in Jacksonville in a large Catholic family, attending San Jose Catholic School and Bishop Kenny High School before heading to the University of Notre Dame.

At Notre Dame, Parker pursued a degree in finance with a minor in theology – a combination he later described as using “both sides of the brain.”

After graduation, he worked in finance, with positions in Philadelphia and New York. By most measures, he had reached his goals. Mergers and acquisitions had been a dream job.

But even as his career progressed, another question persisted: was he being called to be a priest?

He dated and explored other possibilities, but the interior tug remained. Over time, he began speaking with priests and family members, discerning what he later described as “the Lord knocking loudly on my heart.”

While living in Philadelphia, he attended a “Come and See” retreat, which proved pivotal. He experienced what he described as a tremendous peace – a confirmation that the path he had resisted was the one he was meant to follow.

His formation took him to several places, including St. John Vianney Seminary for pre-theology and Theological College at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Alongside his studies, Parker immersed himself in ministry – serving the homeless, working in hospital ministry at Georgetown, assisting at the Basilica and participating in parish and campus ministry.

What stood out to Parker during these years was the diversity of men he encountered in seminary.

“They came from different backgrounds but shared a common desire to pursue God’s will using the gifts they had been given,” he said.

Looking back, Parker offers simple advice: leap.

“It’s a big task in a beautiful way. If he’s calling you, he’ll give you the grace to see it through.”

Bishop Erik Pohlmeier will confer holy orders on these four men at a Mass on May 23 at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 11757 Old St. Augustine Road in Jacksonville. All are welcome to attend.

The Mass will be livestreamed on the diocesan Youtube.com/DOSACatholics channel.