“I had been building up a pretty good life. Until there came a point where I just didn't see myself doing what I was doing and being fulfilled for the next forty years of my life,” he said. “It was as if I had worked for all of what I wanted and it just felt like a let down.”

That’s when he turned to prayer. He recalls how he knelt in front of the Altar of Repose at his home parish of St. Stephen Catholic Church in Riverview, during a Holy Thursday service and prayed about his doubts in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

“The Lord answered me right there,” said Deacon Galvan. “I remember him distinctly saying, you've never once asked me what I want for you. When I finally did ask that question, priesthood just became so much clearer in my mind.”

Deacon Galvan says he realized that he had been asking the Lord to help him do the things he wanted to do, like having a great career, building financial independence and perhaps get married and have kids someday.

“I doubted that doing anything else would actually make me happy,” he said.

Following that encounter with the Lord, Deacon Galvan said he still had doubts.

“How could somebody like me be called to the priesthood? Someone who has made mistakes, somebody who is still trying to develop a prayer life, to develop a relationship with God?” he questioned.

“His grace over the next year-and-a-half of discernment, made me think that yeah, maybe I could do that. Maybe God is calling me to that,” said Deacon Galvan.

Then one day, he picked up the phone and make the call to the Diocese of St. Petersburg Vocation’s Office to start the journey to discerning the priesthood through the seminarian ministry.

Deacon Galvan’s journey as a seminarian will come to an end May 20^th, when he will receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders and be ordained a priest of Jesus Christ by Bishop Gregory Parkes at the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle.   

“I'm really looking forward to being ordained as a priest,” said Deacon Galvan. “This is the end of a seven-year discernment journey for me in seminary, and the beginning of the rest of my life.  It's a privilege. I can't wait to share this life with you all.”

Following his ordination, Deacon Galvan will serve as the as Parochial Vicar of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, Land O’ Lakes.

Deacon Christian Galvan’s Ordination Mass Information:

It is with praise and gratitude to almighty God that Bishop Gregory L. Parkes invites everyone to attend the Priesthood Ordination of Deacon Christian A. Galvan.

Saturday, May 20, 2023, 11:00 am
Cathedral of  St. Jude the Apostle
5815 5th Ave N, St. Petersburg

If you are unable to attend, there is an option to view the ordination at dosp.org/livestream or listen on Spirit FM 90.5.

Get To Know Your Future Priest