There are now a record sixty-four million Catholics in the United States, yet the number of priests is plummeting so fast that hundreds of parishes nationwide are closing down. Against this turbulent backdrop, Englert chart the journey of five men toward the priesthood at a seminary that specialize in βsecond-careerβ priests β men who come to their vocation later than the college years. We meet a divorced father and avid hunter from Wyoming, a ex-salesman and Marine with ADHD, a recently widowed father of four, a blind musician, and others. With wit and sometimes heartbreaking candor, they face the challenges of priestly life β from the traditional hurdles of obedience and chastity to more modern travails, like the bad press let loose by recent sexual abuse scandals and the skepticism of their friends and families. For each man, these challenges are intensified by their past experiences as they sacrifice familiar comforts to answer their calling.
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