Click on each photo for a personalized message from each of the men in formation.
Br. Thomas Junis
Br. Pascal-De-Madeleine Maitela Mukuye
My name is Pascal-De-Madeleine Maitela Mukuye. I was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo on April 02, 1986, in a very poor family. My father died when I was two years old. I was raised up with a wonderful single mom of eight children. I left my country in November 2006 due to wars and settled in Zimbabwe as a refugee. In November 2009, I emigrated to Canada and settled in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.
The desire for serving God as a priest was somehow enkindled in my heart when I was about six years old. Thanks be to God for the gift of my family who nurtured this desire. However, due to extreme poverty back in Congo, I was unable to follow the path to the priesthood. After settling in Canada, this desire continued to grow deeper in my heart. After finishing my university studies, I explored the vocations of a couple religious orders. I also discerned the diocesan priesthood. As a seminarian, I gave God my very best but my heart was not at peace. I felt like something great was missing.
Towards the end of April 2018 a seminarian friend introduced me to the Salesian charism, Salesian spirit, and Salesian motto “Give me souls, take away the rest.” After reading about the life of St. John Bosco, my heart was full of joy. I said to myself: “I will go and stay with Don Bosco. For many years now, this is what my heart has been looking for.” In January 2019, I decided to approach the Salesians in Etobicoke, Ontario. After spending close to a year in four different Salesian communities, my heart was at peace for I found something great that I was looking for.
The journey of my life continues to teach me one important lesson: “nothing will be impossible for God” (Lk. 1:37). The good God continues to be gracious to me. Thank you Mary Help of Christians for bringing me to the Salesians of Don Bosco.
Lorenzo Dalessandro
I could go on and on about the start of my discernment, but here is the most apropos part, I feel. Meeting the Salesians came by way of something so ordinary: my neighbor, who had studied with a few Salesians in Rome, was casually telling me about them. She told me who they were, their charism, their founder, etc. and immediately I was intrigued. Here is why: I was a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Vancouver for four years, and during the last few years of formation there, the thought of: "it would be so nice if I could minister to the young more than what the average Archdiocesan priest does, and possibly even teach them, then my priesthood would be so much better!" Alas, that was not the case, as the Archdiocesan priest has more duties to attend to: running a parish with all its facets is not easy. So, I was prepared to bite the bullet for God. However, while God asks us to surrender everything to Him, He does not necessarily take everything. When my neighbor had told me all these things, I was elated. Absolutely elated. After a period of discernment, it became apparent that God wanted to use these gifts that he has given me for others, and ultimately—as this is what formation is all about—to perfect them—as goes the oft-quoted saying of St. Thomas Aquinas: "grace perfects nature". So, here I am in my first year of Salesian formation. Deo Gratias!
Tim Hughes
My name is Tim Hughes, I’m from Carlsbad, San Diego, and I am currently in my first year of formation with the Salesians as a pre-novice at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, NJ!
Prior to entering formation with the Salesians, I pursued acting, a passion I discovered in middle school and studied through high school at Orange County School of the Arts and in college, where I graduated in May 2020 with a BFA in Acting from Pace University. Following my graduation, I encountered many obstacles and much uncertainty in the early pursuit of my acting career and felt incredibly confused as to where God was calling me to go. In the midst of this confusion, I sought to deepen my prayer life and follow a daily prayer schedule in an effort to take my relationship with God more seriously. It was with these two intertwining occurrences that, towards the end of 2021, I began to suddenly discern a call to the priesthood, a call that startled me with its abruptness and complete disregard for all my plans.
At first, this was a call I wanted to ignore so I could go on blissfully pursuing an acting career, but I could not ignore what God was laying so plainly before me. So I began seeing a spiritual director to discern in good faith where God was calling me. It was following this that, in March 2022, I went on a mission trip to Lima, Peru with a group of FOCUS missionaries, college students, and (quite providentially) one Salesian priest; this was a mission trip that quite honestly changed my life.
In serving on mission for just one week, I encountered an explosive joy and serene purpose, a great flooding of the Holy Spirit. It was deeply vocational, inciting a radical desire in me to lead a life of service. Then, through a series of events, the Salesian priest I’d met (Fr. Steve DeMaio) asked me if I’d like to consider serving as a Salesian Lay Missioner for a year. While I at first balked at the term length, I resonated too deeply with the I accepted the invitation. I went on to serve in Colima, Mexico in a Casa Hogar (a home for at-risk youth) from October 2022 through October 2023.
There in Colima, as I served forty incredible boys and girls in the Casa Hogar, I grew to fall in love with the Salesian mission of serving the young through joy, gentleness, and loving-kindness, imitating Don Bosco as he imitated Christ the Good Shepherd. It was halfway through my mission of accompanying these young boys and girls that I discerned a call to enter with the Salesians. I once again resisted this, fearing what it’d do to all my, “perfect plans.” But after experiencing God the Father’s love for me through prayer and serving the young, I couldn’t help but desire to follow Him where He was calling me.
I am overjoyed to have the opportunity to be in formation with the Salesians as a pre-novice: to live in community with them, to serve the mission of St. Don Bosco, and to discern whether God is truly calling me to become a Salesian.
Please pray that I may follow God with great faith wherever He calls me!
Br. Kevin White
My name is Br. Kevin White, and I am in practical training with the Salesians of Don Bosco. I first started thinking about becoming a Salesian priest when I was a senior at one of our Salesian high schools, Don Bosco Prep. There was a new priest assigned to the school that year that showed me who the person of Jesus was. His example and his guidance allowed me to start a personal relationship with God. I started to pray more on my own and I also started to go to confession regularly. I felt a peace in myself that I had never experienced before.
Around this time, I started to think about becoming a Salesian priest. I was inspired by what this Salesian priest was doing and I could see myself doing what he did; I was drawn to the Sacraments. I also wanted young people to have the same experience of Jesus Christ that I had, and, through prayer, I felt that the way God was calling me to fully give of myself was through becoming a Salesian priest.
I am now in the practical training phase of my formation as a teacher at Archbishop Shaw High School in Louisiana. These past seven years of Salesian life have been some of the best and most growth-filled of my life so far, and I’m excited to see what God has in store for me in the future as a consecrated Salesian.
Br. John Taylor
I was born and raised in north-central Texas, Fort Worth, Texas.
I am a cradle Catholic and I’ve had the great blessing of being taught and shown the faith by my parents and my uncle who is the current Bishop of Little Rock. I remember that I was attracted to the priesthood at a young age and I really wanted to be like my uncle who was a priest (currently, a Bishop). I loved the sense of peace and purpose that I felt while accompanying my uncle to minister to his parishioners.
I felt God’s call to be a priest or religious as a boy, but only after serving full-time for two years with Catholic volunteer programs did I discern that I needed to act. I spent the first year of the volunteer years with the Salesian Lay Missioners where I served youth at Saint John Bosco parish in Chicago, Illinois.
After discerning through those volunteer experiences, I joined the Diocese of Little Rock and spent two and a half years as a seminarian. I decided to leave the Diocese of Little Rock because it did not seem to be where I was called to be at that time.
I’ve spent the last four and a half years working as an employment case worker for refugees in Fort Worth, TX with an organization called World Relief. I believe God has been leading me through this time to come to the Salesians. I discerned a vocation with the Salesians because I felt God tugging at my heart to join the ministry to the young and the poor. I am happy to be on the journey to God and to serving God.
Thank you to my family, friends, coworkers, the Salesians, and young people for praying for me and encouraging me. Above all, thank God for His love and Blessing. Please keep me in your prayers as I keep you in mine. Thank you!
Jieo Tecson
It was in 1981 when my Papa—then only a thirteen-year-old high school freshman—first set foot in the halls of Don Bosco Academy in Pampanga, Philippines. It was only in hindsight when I realized how his decision to attend that Salesian school, a seemingly insignificant one in many respects, would echo throughout the years and affect the course of even my own life.
It was probably due to my Papa's insistence when, on one Sunday evening thirty years later, I decided to take out a film from the parish library. Holding the DVD in my hands, I gazed at the title displayed across the cover: St. John Bosco: Mission to Love. I hardly knew what to expect, but as I watched it, I was blown away by its portrayal of Don Bosco, of his work with troubled boys, of the depths of his compassion, his joy, and his faith. My imagination was so stirred that I even recall telling my grandmother (who was watching with me) that "if I become a priest, I would be a Salesian!" I was not serious at the time, but the film made such an impression on me that I watched the movie once more that same week.
The seeds regarding the possibility of a priestly vocation were planted in the first grade, when a year spent in the Philippines exposed me to the vibrant beauty and intense devotion that characterized the Faith there. It somehow survived the turbulent years of high school in Calgary where, though I tried my hardest to push it away, it kept on resurfacing. I knew that I wanted to have my own family, but the notion of living out my fatherhood in a different, more radical way, scared, challenged, and intrigued me all at once. I started to think about various religious orders, but it was only after my first year of university when I began to ponder the possibility of devoting my life to the young, inspired by the sense of fulfillment I felt as a high school student working among younger grades. I began to work as a classroom aide and recess supervisor at a Catholic school, desiring to see if it was truly something to which I wanted to devote my life. This desire to labor for the salvation of the young eventually led me to a more serious consideration of the Salesians as a possible vocation.
Since then, I've had the opportunity to further explore the spirit of Don Bosco, spending an unforgettable summer in Toronto's Camp Summerdaze, as well as an amazing year in Tampa where, through helping in the high school, parish, and home for retired Salesians, I was able to more deeply immerse myself in the Salesian life. It is a life which I am beginning to envision for myself, and though only God knows where He leads me even now, I am confident that with His grace and if He wills it, I may be able to find sainthood here, both for myself and for the souls with and for whom I am embarking upon this greatest of adventures.
Br. Paul Hotovy
I grew up in a strong Catholic family in Omaha, NE. God blessed me with good parents and five active siblings. My mother and father made Mass and evening prayer an important part of our routine when I was growing up. During high school and college, I always had a feeling that I should go to church and pray, but my faith was superficial and did not impact my life. I was fortunate to get into the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) at the University of Notre Dame. I was sent to Pensacola Catholic High School in Florida to teach high school math and social studies. There were many great witnesses to authentic Catholic life there: my principal, local priests, and my coworkers. As a young man from Notre Dame, I was always sent on the class retreats and eventually I was asked to give testimonies about prayer and being Catholic. Preparing for these talks made me examine my own meager faith and I started asking bigger questions about myself and about Jesus Christ. Slowly, I started to understand that being Catholic was about a relationship with God and not just a series of tasks to accomplish. I also realized that following Christ could never be one of many things but had to be, whether I liked it or not, the most important part of my identity. I began to pray more, read spiritual books, and attend Mass more often. Ultimately, I asked the big question, “God, what do you want to do with my life?”
I decided that maybe I should consider the priesthood or religious life. I moved back to Omaha and started working at the Catholic high school that I had attended. I prayed more but did not feel ready to make any big life decisions. Through the grace of God, Fr. Dominic Tran was celebrating Masses at my home parish, St. Leo’s, in Omaha during the summer of 2016. We talked after Mass one day and then had dinner a few times together. He told me about the Salesians and the life of St. John Bosco. I was enamored with St. John Bosco and his whole-hearted commitment to young people. I spent the summer of 2017 in Chicago at Camp Don Bosco and felt fulfilled living, praying, and working in that community. Ultimately, these were enough signs for me to take the next step to officially join the Salesians. I thank God for placing so many people in my life to steer this stubborn young man into the direction of religious life with the Salesians.
During my first year (as a candidate), I taught American History at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, NJ. This was a rewarding experience because I got to see a Salesian school firsthand. During my pre-novitiate year, I stayed in Ramsey to take classes focused on Salesian spirituality, the Old Testament, the Catechism, and human formation. Additionally, I was able to help around the school—taking students to a soup kitchen each week, coaching cross country, and directing traffic in the morning.
Following that, I entered the novitiate in Richmond, CA. The novitiate year is a period of deepening one’s prayer life and discerning whether God is calling one to become a consecrated religious—namely a Salesian of Don Bosco. On August 15, 2021, I publicly professed the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience while promising to follow Don Bosco’s mission. I was privileged to profess these vows at the same time as Br. Francis Nguyen and Br. Reegan Ledet (who took his vows in California). I am currently living in our house of studies with 16 great confreres in Orange, NJ. I am studying philosophy and theology at Seton Hall University while helping with various apostolates at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church.
Nicholas Jandernoa
My name is Nicholas Jandernoa and I grew up in the small town of Pewamo in Michigan. I have one older brother and three younger sisters. While in high school, I was physically active (I am still active and love sports) and played football and golf. After high school, I did missionary work with NET Ministries for two years. NET stands for national evangelization teams. NET’s main focus is to encourage young people to love Jesus and embrace the life of the church. I was on NET teams in Ireland and Scotland, and it was through my experience with NET that I discovered I had a desire to work with young people and had a passion for helping them through the transitional years of life.
After I finished with NET Ministries, I wondered what to do next. I worked as an electrical apprentice shortly after my missionary work was done. Up until this point, I had never put much thought into joining religious life. I then had a meeting with my parish priest. He saw something special in me and he asked me if I ever discerned priesthood. I shared with him that I had thought about it and went on a couple seminary visits while in high school, but it didn’t attract me. I then told him that I have never put much thought into religious life. He then encouraged me to not be afraid to explore the possibility of religious life. I then started looking up orders that might interest me.
I knew a bit about Don Bosco and how he worked with youth. I did some research and saw that he founded a religious order that was centered around giving oneself to God through working with the young. I prayed about it for quite a while. I had to stop working due to COVID-19 and that gave me more time to examine my life and what was actually important to me. The thought of being radically set apart for God seemed very attractive! This led to me traveling down to Tampa Bay to help with the Salesian summer camp at Mary Help of Christians to help discern if the Salesians were right for me. I had a great experience, and I was confident that I think God might be calling me to start the formation process. I applied and got accepted into the formation process. I then stayed in Orange, New Jersey for a year and a half where I studied at Seton Hall University and taught RCIA for young people.
I am currently living in our house of formation in Orange, New Jersey, and I am excited for what this year will bring! Please pray for me that I may discern if God is calling me to be a Salesian priest or brother.
Christo Philistin
"Jesus said to him, 'Hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.' So he hurried and came down and welcomed him gladly." - Luke 19:5-6
When I talk about my vocation, I feel a profound sense of grace and honor. Jesus saw me where I was and wished to stay with me, even though I felt unworthy of such a favor.
My name is Christo Ruben Philistin. I am from Haiti and come from a small family (just my older sister and me). By God's grace, we were raised in a religious environment and grew up having respect for the sacraments. For my ninth birthday, my father took me to church. I remember it as if it were today: it was a Sunday afternoon, and the priest was celebrating Mass. At the end of the service, I told my father I wanted to become a priest. He was pleased, but we never spoke of it again. Yet as years went by, that day and conversation seemed to be forgotten.
However, as if by a miracle, during my last year of high school, the desire to serve God reappeared. I became increasingly interested in the things of God: reading the Bible, going to church, and seeking out all the books about God in the library. This is how I began to understand what my heart was telling me, though I did not know how to interpret or act on it. So, I consulted an aunt, who is a nun. She accompanied me for several months, and when I was ready, I announced the news to my family. During our time together, this same aunt spoke to me about the Salesians, and that’s how I joined a Salesian community.
After I spent time with my aunt, I became acquainted with the Salesians and started my vocational process. I completed my candidacy, aspirancy, and pre-novitiate years in Haiti, then went to Mexico for my novitiate. However, due to family reasons, I moved to the United States, where I am now a member of this holy and beautiful province. I am currently pursuing my novitiate in Richmond, California.
Br. Francis Nguyen
My name is Br. Francis Nguyen and I am from Annandale, VA, about 20 minutes away from Washington, DC. I started feeling God’s call at a turbulent time in my life. At that time, I had recently graduated from Virginia Tech, about one year out. I was studying for the MCAT to get into medical school throughout my first year of post-graduate life. As a 23-year-old, I knew I wasn’t doing myself a favor studying something I did not have a passion for. As the deadline for medical school applications wound down, I felt increased pressure and anxiety in my life since I did not have everything in line or a future mapped out for myself. I shortly gave up on that idea and started praying more.
There were two moments in my life that initiated my desire to want to know Jesus more: one was when my father asked me if I wanted to attend my cousin’s ordination, who is a Salesian, and the second was the day that my grandfather passed away. Both these events occurred within one month of each other. Soon enough, I was getting signs left and right from random people at my church coming up to me and saying that they would pray for me and also from my aunts telling me how great of a religious I would be. At the time, I was also a youth servant leader for my church and felt great joy serving and being a friend to the young.
From then on, I started to discern and take my calling seriously throughout the next year. On May 16, 2018, I received the call from Fr. Dominic announcing my acceptance as a candidate of the Salesians of Don Bosco. I must thank my family, friends, parish pastor / assistant pastor, spiritual advisors, and youth group who have nurtured and prayed for my vocation and calling. Please remember to keep me in your prayers, as I keep you in mine.
Carlos Cerda Gutierrez
I was born and raised in Mexican lands and my Catholic faith was always present. Though my faith wasn’t strong, now that I look back on my childhood and adolescence, I am happy about the education and values I received from my family. I am an only child who at the age of 13 migrated to the United States. It was in the United States that I got to know more about my Catholic faith. I felt the call to serve God in the young people in my home parish. I knew the young people desired to be listened to and understood. They wanted a safe place for them to express their authentic selves. Being accompanied by a Carmelite Friar helped me to know St. John Bosco and his mission, and that is when I decided to become a Salesian. I also knew that my path to becoming a saint is not alone but in the company of brothers following the same mission.
Now that I accomplished my candidacy stage of formation, I feel grateful to God for calling me to discern this vocation. I am also grateful to the congregation and the province for the many great experiences.
As I move forward to the stage of pre-novitiate, I want to ask all of you to keep me and my companions in your prayers to keep being able to listen to God’s voice and call.
Francis Chazhikattu
My name is Francis Chazhikattu, but most know me as "Franky".
I was about five years old when my life changed—I told my mom I wanted to be a priest. Before then, I grew up being formed by two communities. One was my zealous Indian community (which meant being at all church/community services practically twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week), and the other was my public school. Since I went to school with other low-to-middle-class children from culturally diverse backgrounds, I had the blessing to grow up as part of the “99 percent”, as a “man of the people”.
I told my mom that perhaps thinking about becoming a priest looked cool. It was from then on that things changed. The Indian community heard of it, and there was a lot of pressure on me to follow through. As it was the only thing I was known for, after years, I began to despise the idea of me being a priest.
Things also changed with my school community, which used to be a safe space for me. I was sent to Cristo Rey Tampa Salesian High School after Fr. Steve Ryan informed my family about me joining the just-opened school. That meant leaving all my friends to go to a new school, where I knew almost no one. As a result of having felt confused, I fell into a very toxic friend group.
Though I was very involved in my church and had much knowledge about the faith, I felt completely lost, since I had no direction in life, and alone, since it felt like neither man nor God was there for me. Little did I know that God was slowly placing the bricks in my life.
It was during my junior year, at my lowest point in life so far, that I attended the Salesian Leadership Retreat (SLR), because no one else signed up. Despite my initial disregard, that retreat changed my life. It was where I felt I could truly be myself, around people who loved me for who I was at that point, to the point that it was clear that Christ was drowning me in His love through them.
Following that experience, I became more active in my communities. The next brick God placed was when Fr. Eddie Chincha invited me to work the summer camp that year. Despite the intensity of those two weeks, I discovered my passion for serving the youth, being able to minister in small ways and have fun with them.
During my senior year, I was heavily involved with campus ministry. Next, I went into my first year of college with the desire to be a youth minister after being inspired by summer camp and the example of Salesian Lay Missioner (SLM) Andy Lagunas.
Despite having my most consistent prayer routine through my first year at college, I didn’t feel the deep connection with God that I desired. That was when I was invited to help as a member of the core team for an SLR, which reignited my passion for the youth and was where I started speaking with two guys in discernment with the Salesians, who were spending the year with the Tampa community. It was through their witness and the support of my family and friends that I accepted the invitation from Fr. Franco Pinto and Fr. Eddie to spend some time better discerning wherever God was calling me by living with the Salesian community in Tampa.
That year helped me grow in unimaginable ways. It allowed me to see what it meant to be in that Salesian community, how human they are from brotherly banter, and how spiritual they grew by their life experiences. With the school’s campus ministry, I was pushed to grow by the challenge to really get to know these kids, which made me become a better example for them. I was welcoming and myself around them. As a result, they let me in their lives and were open to accompaniment in all parts of their lives. I encouraged them to have fun and foster the desire to grow in their spiritual life. Through their opening of their own selves and teaching me things, I was truly able to encounter Christ’s love through them. These kids came from broken families, tough backgrounds, yet had the biggest hearts, which allowed me to really share my life with the young and the poor.
Through the guidance of the various Salesians in community life and the experiences of the youth helping me grow in holiness, I made the choice to officially apply for Salesian formation. My first year was as a candidate in the Orange community, and I am now a pre-novice at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, NJ.
For you who are reading this, wherever God is calling for you, just remember the advice that I was once given. Even if you’re unsure if this is where God is calling you and even if you discern out, you will still have such fruitful experiences that you’ll grow from. So don’t be afraid that it might be a waste; just try spend time to at least get to know the Salesians, and be open to whatever life God calls you to.