Dear Friend,

You have so much to be proud of, especially as you look upon the faces of our Saint Lawrence Seminary Seniors. God called each one to Saint Lawrence Seminary. Your generosity and prayers sustained them and brought them to Graduation Sunday, May 17, 2015.

Many of these young men come from families who could not afford to send their son to this unique high school seminary. Were it not for your goodness, your commitment and your profound hope and faith, this day would not be possible for them.  Their thanks to God and to you is deep and real.

Please join with 46 graduates and their families in prayer on Graduation Sunday. I invite you to send your prayer intentions to me so that we may include them in our Masses and prayers, most especially on Graduation Sunday.

We call our seminarians and alumni, “Sons of Calvary” – the great Hill on which our Seminary sits. You can also consider them as the “sons of your faith.” You have prayed for them. You have supported their seminary education and formation. You have given them this holy ground and sacred time in their lives. Your gift to them of Saint Lawrence Seminary has changed the course of their young lives and thereby touched the future of the Catholic Church we love.

Many will continue to explore God’s call to priesthood and Capuchin religious life. Others will serve the Church as committed and faithful laymen. In all of their vocations, the Church and the world are blessed and enriched. And you have been a vital part of nurturing their vocations these past four years.

Again, I thank you for your generous partnership with the Capuchin friars as we work and build for the next generation of seminarians answering the Lord’s call to explore their vocations at Saint Lawrence Seminary. Take pride as these forty-six young men, the sons of your faith, leave Saint Lawrence Seminary and live as men for others and witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In these young faces, you see only the beginning of the return on your investment in them. Their lives of service, ministry and faithfulness as Catholic leaders will bear fruit long after you and I are gone.

May you be forever blessed.

Yours in Christ, Saint Francis and Saint Anthony,

Father John Holly, OFM Cap.
Rector