By Jake Evitts
Home Parish: Holy Redeemer Parish, Evansville
Seminary: Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary
Ordination year: 2032
Editor’s Note: This year, Diocesan seminarians focused their annual seminarian articles on the theme: “Encouraging Discernment.” Our seminarians wrote about a non-ordained person from our Diocese who encouraged them to discern priesthood.
Someone who has been instrumental in my priestly discernment and has been a role model for me is Mary Jo Keen, youth minister at my home parish of Holy Redeemer. Mary Jo has helped in my discernment because she is someone who I have always looked up to and has been someone who I have sought to model my ministerial style after. I especially admire how she has centered her ministerial style around treating everyone she meets as if they were family no matter their school, age, parish or background.
Along with her showing me the importance of Christian love, I also have been inspired by Mary Jo’s constant love of serving those in need through centering her youth ministry around service projects such as challenger league, Indiana March for Life, Mission Evansville and high school mission trips. She has also been impactful throughout my discernment because she was one of the first people I told about my discernment, and she encouraged me to attend multiple retreats. Later on, I asked her to write one of my recommendation letters for seminary.