By Father Nick Adam
Father Tristan Stovall, Bishop Joseph Kopacz and I enjoyed a wonderful visit to Notre Dame Seminary in late September for the final faculty evaluation for Will Foggo. Will began his journey through seminary formation back at the very height of the pandemic in August 2020. I was blown away by his courage and perseverance to join the seminary at such a challenging time.

Now, five years later, Will is completing his classwork and, after his evaluation, is officially recommended to be admitted to the Sacrament of Holy Orders. He will be ordained a deacon on Saturday, Nov. 29, at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle at 10:30 a.m., and he will be ordained a priest on Saturday, May 16, 2026 after a six-month period of work as a deacon in a parish.

There are three levels of holy orders: deacon, priest, and bishop. A man must be a deacon before he is ordained a priest, and a priest before he is ordained a bishop. As a deacon, the man is blessed with sacramental grace to act in the person of Christ the servant, while the priest is ordained to act in the person of Christ the priest. The bishop receives the fullness of holy orders and acts as the shepherd of the whole diocese. Of course, bishops and priests don’t ‘stop’ being deacons after ordination. They must lead and sanctify the people with a servant’s heart, and they will need to draw on the graces of the sacrament in order to be faithful to their duty for life.

So, it was a joyful evening at Notre Dame Seminary following Will’s evaluation. We gathered in the ‘Bib,’ short for bibliotheca (Latin for ‘library’), which is the hangout area for the seminarians ‘after hours.’ Father Tristan cooked a wonderful meal that we all enjoyed, and I love seeing our seminarians, veterans and rookies, having a great time together.

I mentioned to the rector of the seminary, Father Josh Rodrigue, who joined us for the meal, that I always dreamed that we could have a gathering like this one. I cherished my time with my own diocesan brothers in the seminary, but to see so many Jackson men together and having a great time gathered around their bishop was very moving to me.

Our discernment groups are launching once again for the fall semester, and the vocation team is inviting men to take part in a group, visit the seminary, or both. My discernment group in Jackson began the first week of October, and I’m planning on taking at least three men down to St. Joseph Abbey to visit the seminary on Columbus Day weekend. Five discernment group participants from last year ended up in the seminary this year, so this is a model of accompaniment that is repeatable and works.

We are focusing this year on encouraging visits to the seminary as they seem to have the greatest impact on the men. I always remind the guys — we do not offer these opportunities to force them to become priests, but we are giving them resources to explore the call. We see potential in them, yes, but they cannot make a free choice for the Lord if they never get to speak to anyone about what priesthood is like or what the seminary entails. Please keep these discerners in your prayers and pray that the Lord continues to bless us with more seminarians who desire, like Will, to be servant leaders in our diocese.

(For more information on vocations, visit jacksonvocations.com or contact Father Nick at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)

By Father Nick Adam

We’ve had a lot to celebrate in the past month. Many of our seminarians birthdays fall within the months of August and September, so it was a lot of fun on Sept. 5 to go down to South Louisiana and celebrate Grayson Foley’s birthday, while also wishing Francisco Maldonado and Kevin Lopez a belated birthday, and wishing EJ Martin and Wilson Locke a happy ‘soon-to-be birthday.’

I was down at the seminary to move Kevin in after he received his student visa just before the deadline for entry into the seminary for the semester. Kevin has been in the process of transferring from his former seminary in Morelia, Mexico and it took a while to get all the paperwork in order. We are excited to have Kevin enter the fold. He has a real history here in Mississippi as his cousins live in the Tupelo area and he and his parents have spent extended time visiting them over the past several years. Kevin has gotten to know the priests in Northeast Mississippi during this time, and he had been attending the same seminary as Father Cesar Sanchez and so he knew Father Cesar as well.

Kevin will begin his formation with us doing intensive work on English, and we threw him right into the mix on that first day he was in town! I was grateful to him for being such a good sport, and we all encouraged him that his English is quite good already! One of the questions that I ask when considering a candidate is ‘how much time have they spent in our diocese?’ We are seeking to call forth a Homegrown Harvest, and we know that men from all backgrounds are a part of the Catholic Church here in Mississippi. Kevin is an example of someone who has close ties to the state and understands what it would mean to serve here. I can relate, after all, I’m not from Mississippi either, but part of my discernment was being honest with the Lord and my formators and closely discerning where the Lord was calling me to serve as a priest. It turned out that the Lord called me to serve here, and I’m grateful that I was given the opportunity by Father Matthew way back in the day to discern that call.

I am so grateful to all the men who have responded to the Lord’s call to discernment, and I believe Kevin is a great addition to the crew. We are not looking for ‘cookie-cutter’ seminarians, but we do need every single man who studies to be a priest for our diocese to have the People of God in Jackson as their top priority. I believe these men that we have assembled all have serving the good people of our diocese in their hearts, and this is a great place from which to discern. Thank you for your continued prayers for our seminarians. I hope many of you are able to come to the Homegrown Harvest Festival on Oct. 11 at St. Francis in Madison to meet them and spend time with them!

In late summer, vocation directors from across the country gather to pray, learn and encourage one another at the National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors (NCDVD). This annual gathering is truly a gift – it renews us spiritually, strengthens us in our work, and reminds us that we are not alone in the challenges of vocation ministry.

Much of the conference’s vitality is thanks to longtime executive director Rosemary Sullivan. With a son who is a priest and daughters who help run the event, she has poured her heart into supporting vocation directors. Her leadership and faith have made NCDVD a place where our ministry can thrive.

At the heart of the conference is prayer. Each day the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for adoration, we pray morning and evening prayer together, and we celebrate Mass as a community. A midweek retreat morning gives us the chance to focus deeply on our relationship with the Lord. These moments keep us grounded – not just as professionals, but as disciples who depend on Christ to sustain our work.

Workshops also provide practical guidance. This year, I learned about preparing seminarians for ordination and ensuring they continue to receive strong support as new priests. Other sessions offered ideas for organizing the vocations office and finding balance in the often-busy life of a vocation director. These insights help us serve our seminarians better and encourage us to keep striving for holiness.

But the conference is not all work – it is also joyful. I am grateful for the leaders and brother priests who make it possible each year. Spending this time together was a moment of true renewal, and I returned home energized for the mission ahead.

That mission comes into special focus next month at our sixth annual Homegrown Harvest Festival on Oct. 11. This event is a joyful celebration of our seminarians – the future shepherds of our diocese. We are blessed to have 12 men currently in formation, and your prayers and support are vital as they discern God’s call. I hope to see many of you at the festival as we pray together for even more laborers to be sent into the Lord’s harvest.

(For more information on vocations, visit jacksonvocations.com or contact Father Nick at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)

By Father Nick Adam
We had an atmosphere that was both different and familiar at our annual seminarian convocation in early August. Each summer, the seminarians gather to rest, relax and prepare for the new school year.

This year’s event was familiar because we enjoyed a fun time together, as always. Each morning, we prayed a holy hour, and either Father Tristan, Bishop Kopacz or I celebrated Mass before a day of recreation. The seminarians spent time fishing, swimming, playing pingpong and pool, and simply relaxing.

We also took care of some business, including taking photos for our annual poster and reviewing good communication practices and responsibilities for the coming year. Last year, you may have noticed that most of us sported mustaches on the poster – we called it the “mo-poster.” This year, the theme is “normal.” Ha!

What made this year truly different was the number of seminarians in attendance. We are proud and blessed to welcome six new seminarians this academic year – a 100% increase in enrollment. We now have 12 total seminarians. I give thanks to God for this great gift, and I know your prayers have been instrumental in making it possible.

The Lord tells us to beg the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. We’ve been doing that for years, and he is showing us how faithful he is. Praise the Lord!

Please keep this rapid growth in mind as you consider attending and supporting our Homegrown Harvest Festival in October. This annual fundraiser will take place Saturday, Oct. 11, at St. Francis Catholic Church in Madison. Our goal is to raise $200,000, which will go directly toward funding the education of these future priests. We especially need sponsors.

If you haven’t received information in the mail or online, visit jacksondiocese.org/online-giving and click “Homegrown Harvest” to purchase tickets or become a sponsor.

We have been hard at work in this field for the last six years, and now we have six new seminarians in just one year. The Lord is with us in this mission. If you can help fund the education of our future priests, please consider doing so. I am so proud of our seminarians and grateful to God for this bountiful harvest.
Thanks to so many of you who have been part of this ministry over the years – the best is yet to come!

(For more information on vocations, visit jacksonvocations.com or contact Father Nick at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)

Editor’s note: This month’s Called by Name column is written by seminarian Grayson Foley, who is stepping in for Father Nick Adam, director of vocations for the Diocese of Jackson, this month. Please continue praying for our seminarians and that others may hear and respond to God’s call.

The excitement in the air at Notre Dame Seminary wasn’t just because finals were wrapping up and everyone was ready for summer. As the May days continued, we knew it was only a matter of time before white smoke rose from the chimney in Rome.

I was in my room and thought my seminarian brother was pranking me when he ran by yelling, “White smoke!” I felt like Thomas in disbelief – until I heard the bells. As I ran downstairs to see that there was a new pope, I was filled with both excitement and a small wish that the election had taken place just a bit later – only because I was flying to Rome the next day.

That next day couldn’t come fast enough. EJ Martin and I were filled with anticipation for the trip we had planned months before. God had a wonderful plan for us. A new pope had been elected just a day before our trip, and I would get to see all of my seminarian brothers studying in Rome, visit my older brother Sterling, walk the streets of the Eternal City – and see the newly elected pope.
It was my first time flying to Europe, and that alone was exciting enough. But the Lord was ready to shower me with so many more blessed opportunities.

We stayed with two different seminary communities in Rome, ate lots of gelato, walked through the Holy Doors of all four major basilicas for the Jubilee Year, drank lots of espresso, visited an incredible number of churches, went on the Scavi Tour and saw where the bones of St. Peter lie under the basilica – and in the same week, had the blessed opportunity not only to serve at the pope’s inauguration Mass but to distribute Communion for it.

Some of the brothers in my older brother’s religious order gave up their tickets so that EJ, Grant Caillouet (a seminarian for the Diocese of Baton Rouge), and I could serve at the first public Mass of the first American pope.

It was an amazing experience, but the most moving part was walking through the doors of an empty St. Peter’s Basilica during the Creed to pick up the ciboria filled with hosts – as 20,000 Catholics behind me chanted, “Et unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam.” (“And [I believe in] one holy, Catholic and apostolic church.”)

That moment made me feel, in the heart of my heart, that I was truly a part of the mystical body of Christ – bigger than myself – and I was completely humbled to be able to participate as a servant in that way.
As we finished our trip to Europe, I had a relatively quick turnaround to good ole Oxford, Mississippi.

Serving the people of God here in Oxford, working alongside Father Mark Shoffner, and getting to know all the parishioners and college students has been an absolute blessing. I have learned so much this summer and have grown to love the people of this diocese even more.

I can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store as I continue on the path of love.

Grayson Foley, seminarian

All of our seminarians have begun their summer assignments. It is always exciting to see our guys get to be in parishes and I know how much parishioners from these parishes enjoy getting to know our men. Our seminarians look forward to their summer assignments each year because they get to come out of the classroom and serve the people that they are called to serve!

This year Will Foggo and Francisco Maldonado will have a unique experience as they are assigned together at St. Elizabeth in Clarksdale. You may know that the rectory at St. Elizabeth is quite large, and so I wanted to give those two an opportunity to serve together and I am grateful to Father Raju Macherla for being willing to supervise two men. Grayson Foley is with Father Mark Shoffner in Oxford; Joshua Statham is with Father Rusty Vincent in Vicksburg; and Joe Pearson will be with Father Kent Bowlds in Cleveland after he completes the Institute for Priestly Formation in Omaha, Nebraska in early July. EJ Martin and Wilson Locke are in Mexico for the summer studying Spanish.

Before the summer Father Tristan Stovall and I met with all the pastors who will be serving as supervisors to help them prepare. It is important that our guys are guided through the summer as these assignments really help them discern whether they are called to serve as priests in our diocese. I try to give them varied experiences so they can understand what it will be like if they are called to serve in a suburban parish in the Jackson metro, in a country parish in the Delta, or in a college town.

I also have some exciting information about an upcoming ordination. Will Foggo will be ordained to the transitional diaconate on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Jackson. Please save the date and join us! The Egg Bowl, gratefully, is on Friday, Nov. 28, so please enjoy your time over Thanksgiving with your family and watch some good football, then come to pray for Will and support him that Saturday morning. Will’s priestly ordination will be on Saturday, May 16, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral.

The reason that Will’s ordinations are close together is because the recommendations of the U.S. Bishops recently changed with regard to when men should be ordained to the diaconate. It was suggested that dioceses wait until the candidate is completely done with their academic work so that they can be in the diocese full-time as a deacon. Will’s class was the second class to experience this trial, but after this year we are all reverting back to the old schedule, so he’s getting a unique experience for sure! I am very excited for Will, and I know that he will be a great asset to whichever parishes he gets assigned to.

Thus far we will have three new seminarians joining the fold this August. There are still a couple of applications in process, so I’ll keep you all updated as we go along. Thank you for your prayers and support for our program, they are working! Thanks to all who have given to our Spring Vocations Appeal which is really helping us continue to accompany any young man who is open to a call to the seminary.

Father Nick Adam, vocation director

(For more information on vocations, visit jacksonvocations.com or contact Father Nick at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)

As we head into summer, I’m continuing to review seminary applications. I’m happy to report we have nine seminarians lined up for this fall – up from six in recent years!

One of our newest is Joshua Statham from Richland, who attends St. Jude in Pearl. Josh entered the church while a student at Southern Miss and began seminary formation for the Diocese of Biloxi in 2023. He recently transferred to Jackson, completing his application earlier this month. I’ve known Josh for many years and appreciate the prayerful care he’s taken in making this decision. We’re glad to welcome him. Special thanks to Father Braxton Necaise, vocation director in Biloxi, and Bishop Kihneman for their help with the transfer.

Josh joins two others beginning formation this year. I previously introduced Eli McFadden from St. Paul in Flowood, and we have one more new seminarian I’ll be sharing more about soon. With several applications still pending, I’m hopeful we’ll have even more good news this summer. For now, at least nine young men will be in formation this fall – a hopeful sign of how the Lord is working in hearts across our diocese.

I was also encouraged by the incredible generosity of the Knights of Columbus at the state convention in April. Councils across the diocese donated more than $50,000 for seminary education. I gave them a standing ovation when they presented the check to Bishop Kopacz.

I’m also honored to give the invocation at the annual Luella & Floyd Q. Doolittle Golf Classic, sponsored by the St. Francis Madison Knights of Columbus. It will be held June 14 at Whisper Lake Country Club in Madison. Everyone is invited to sign up to play or sponsor. For info, contact Tunney Vandevender at (601) 622-4145 or tunneyv1@icloud.com. I wish I could play – but at least I can pray!

Our Spring Vocations Appeal is still underway. A second collection was taken on Mother’s Day weekend, and a mail appeal went out as well. If you haven’t yet contributed, there’s still time. Every dollar supports vocation promotion and the education of our seminarians – whose numbers, as you can see, are growing. I’m deeply grateful for your support. I know there are many worthy causes in the church, and I promise we are doing all we can to be faithful stewards of every gift.

Please keep praying – not just for more priests, but for holy priests.

Father Nick Adam, vocation director

Join Vocations Supporters on Flocknote for updates from the Vocations Office: https://jacksondiocese.flocknote.com/VocationsSupport

CALLED BY NAME
By Father Nick Adam

All of our seminarians were in parishes and/or at the Cathedral during parts of Holy Week and the Easter Triduum. It was a lot of fun to get their perspective on things as they worked through the rigor of preparing and executing all the beautiful liturgies that the church offers during this sacred time of year. It has become tradition that on Spy Wednesday (the Wednesday of Holy Week), several seminarians and I celebrate Mass for the student body at St. Joseph in Madison. This year we were blessed to have all four of our St. Joe alumni seminarians along with Francisco Maldonado and Father Tristan Stovall was available to concelebrate! It was inspiring to the students, the faculty and staff, and myself to see those guys come back home and witness all those in attendance. Great thanks to Dr. Dena Kinsey, Charlene Papali and all those involved at St. Joe for inviting us again this year.

We are suddenly nearing the end of the seminary school year and a few of our men are nearing some important milestones. Joe Pearson will be graduating with his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from St. Joseph Seminary College on Friday, May 9. Joe is also about to complete the ‘discipleship stage’ of his formation. This stage is focused on becoming a more devoted disciple of Jesus before focusing specifically on discerning being a priest of Jesus Christ in the ‘configurative stage’ of formation.
We will move toward that stage of formation with Joe with his admission to candidacy on May 13 at the Cathedral of St. Peter. Joe will affirm that he continues to feel called to serious discernment of the priesthood and he will publicly begin wearing the roman collar. This will help him, and other candidates at this stage, to begin ‘trying on’ priesthood in a more concrete way. The fact is, when someone is wearing a collar, this says something about them. People being to approach you and ask you questions. They may have a positive, or a negative, view of the clergy, and one has to be prepared to be a messenger of Christ to them no matter what their perspective.

Will Foggo, meanwhile, is finishing his final full year of seminary formation. He will spend one final semester in the fall at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans and then be ordained a deacon in December, and then he’ll have a six-month assignment in a parish prior to his ordination to the priesthood in the spring or summer of 2026. It has been a pleasure to work with Will thus far and I know he’ll be a great asset to the brotherhood of priests in our diocese.

We keep moving forward with preparations for the upcoming school year. We have one new seminarian on board already, with several more applications still in progress. Please keep all those who are considering entering formation in your prayers, and pray for our vocations committee, myself, Bishop Kopacz, and all those who are involved in discerning with these applicants whether now is the time to enter into priestly formation. Happy Easter to all! Alleluia!

(For more information on vocations, visit jacksonvocations.com or contact Father Nick at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)

Join Vocations Supporters on Flocknote for updates from the Vocations Office at: https://jacksondiocese.flocknote.com/VocationsSupport

I’m pleased to announce that Eli McFadden from St. Paul in Flowood has been accepted as a seminarian and will begin his formation in August 2025 at St. Joseph Seminary College in Covington, Louisiana. Eli is a senior at Northwest Rankin High School and is a member of the youth group at St. Paul. He has also participated in two discernment groups held for high schoolers in the Jackson area in the past year. Eli’s parents, Robert and Mandy, have been very supportive and I’d like to thank them for their collaboration and the trust they put in me to take Eli through the application process. We have two more applications in process for the fall, please keep those men in your prayers as well.

Eli will be entering into the ‘propaedeutic stage’ of formation. This is that newer stage of formation that the US Bishops introduced a couple of years ago. We’ve already had three of our seminarians go through this intensive preparatory stage of formation. Wilson Locke, Francisco Maldonado and Joe Pearson all participated in this stage and they all had a positive experience.
The point of this stage is to help the men build up the habits they’ll need to live life in the seminary and the parish well without being overburdened by philosophy and theology classes. It was observed over the years that academics were becoming an out-sized part of the discernment process, and so the propaedeutic stage puts the focus squarely on building up human virtues and fostering the spiritual life of the candidate before they get too deep into the academic dimension of formation.

All of our current seminarians just completed their spring evaluations. Each year Bishop Kopacz and I drive down to Notre Dame Seminary and St. Joseph Seminary to sit for these evaluations. Father Tristan Stovall also comes down to support our guys and visit with them. The seminarians provide their own self-assessment, and the formation faculty provide their own feedback to the man and to Bishop and myself as their primary formators. This is also a great time of fraternity for all of us. It is special for the seminarians to get to spend time with the Bishop, and we take them out for a nice dinner so they can relax after their evaluations and just visit with me, Father Tristan and the Bishop.

I’m very proud of our group of men and grateful to the Lord for their openness to their formation. They are all doing very well, and it is clear to me that they are all an asset to their respective communities.
This summer four of our men will be on parish assignment in the diocese. Will Foggo and Francisco Maldonado will be on assignment at St. Elizabeth Clarksdale; and Grayson Foley will be on assignment at St. John Oxford. I would especially like to thank Father Raju at St. Elizabeth and Father Mark Shoffner at St. John for taking on this responsibility. Joe Pearson will be arriving at Our Lady of Victories in Cleveland just after Independence Day. Joe will be participating in the Institute for Priestly Formation (IPF) in Omaha, Nebraska up until that point, but IPF ends at the beginning of July so we wanted to fit in a shorter parish experience following the end of the program. Thanks to Father Kent Bowlds for his openness to this.
I am confident that these men will be assets to the parishes they are a part of for the summer, just as they are assets to their seminary communities throughout the academic year.

Father Nick Adam, vocation director