Jonathan Puckett

Parish: St. Matthew, Champaign

Birthdate: December 28

Seminary: Mundelein Seminary: Entered 2021, Class of 2027

Why did you become a seminarian?
When I was in college, I starting wondering how God wanted me to love other people, whether in marriage or as a priest. We all have a vocation to be holy, but I began asking God how He wanted me to specifically live out that holiness. I started serving Mass and going to weekly Adoration at the University of Illinois in Champaign, and being close to the altar and near to the Eucharist inflamed my heart with the desire to be a father of souls. I wanted always to be intimately close to the Eucharist in these moments, and even now there is really nothing more important than that. Notwithstanding my weaknesses, God provides me the strength every day to live out this calling. I became a seminarian to discern whether God created me to be His priest, and in the years since entering I have become more and more convicted that I am made for this. 

What did you do before seminary?
I worked in a Rare Book Library while getting my master’s degree in Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois. 

An interesting fact about you:
I am a convert to the Catholic Faith, and I was baptized when I was a senior in high school.