“I can feel the happiness of ordination day already,” said Deacon Johnathon Hickey, who will be ordained a priest on Saturday, June 6, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne. In his junior year of high school, Johnathan Hickey opened himself up to discerning his vocation. In the last few minutes of his lunch period at Bishop Luers High School, he routinely went to the chapel and asked the Lord what He wanted him to do with his life. There in the chapel, Deacon Hickey said he needed to “just listen. Listening is the hard part because there tends to be a lot of things that distract us, a lot of loud voices in the world that are not necessarily contrary to the Faith, but they can pull us away.” In addition to listening for God’s call, Deacon Hickey found the Lord working subtly through the joyful priests surrounding him. As a young man trying to decide what to do with his life, he took note of the happiness, peace and “witness to joy” in priests such as Father Cyril Hernandez, Father Daniel Whelan and Father Andrew Budzynski. “God is going to put people in your life that subtly lead you to where He wants you,” Deacon Hickey told Today’s Catholic. “That witness to joy is the biggest weapon we have.” ‘Everything Fell into Place’ That galvanizing weapon was first felt in his home, where the beauty of his parents’ marital vocation and their participation in the Church served as a witness for him and his three siblings. His identical twin brother, Michael, also heard a call to the priesthood, and the brothers shared with each other their growing desire to become priests. With the benefit of hindsight, Deacon Hickey recognizes that God is always “working with your desires.” As a young man, he and his brothers enjoyed working at Science Central, where he developed the ability to “get in front of a crowd and talk and teach something, and I know for some guys that would definitely be a hurdle.” But God had plans for him where this skill set was going to be necessary. Deacon Hickey also desired to be a police officer, so as he continued to contemplate the priesthood, he pursued a degree in criminal justice from Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne. During this time, he continued to feel the Lord forming him. It was to Father Dennis Di Benedetto, the chaplain at IPFW, to whom Hickey first vocalized his discernment to the priesthood. He told Father Di Benedetto, “I could see myself being a priest.” Father Di Benedetto agreed with him, and it is this priest’s surplice Deacon Hickey wears to this day. After that, Hickey applied for the seminary, an act that was not surprising to his family. He went to church for a vocations team meeting and said he “wasn’t actually even thinking about asking for an application that day,” but “everything fell in place.” He was speaking with Father Budzinski, the vocations director at the time and one of the joyful priests who inspired his calling, and before he knew it, he was walking home with an application in his hand. “Guess what I just did?” he said to his dad. His dad’s first guess was that he’d been to confession. When Hickey said he hadn’t, his dad asked, “Did you get an application for seminary?” Brothers in Faith Hickey began his studies at Mount St. Mary’s in Emmitsburg, Maryland in 2020. Having recently finished his sixth and final year of seminary, he said he loved every minute of his time there. Deacon Hickey said there have been unexpected joys during these six years, pointing to an immersion summer in Guatemala and ministering to the students on campus as particularly enriching experiences that have informed how he wants to encounter people as a priest. Deacon Hickey has the unusual experience of sharing a very real paternity with his fellow seminarian brother Michael, but he also speaks of priestly paternity as a lifelong support structure for him. He knows that the beauty of everyday life alongside the men with whom he has been in formation will serve as a backbone of his priestly life. “The guys that I laid on the cathedral floor with and was ordained with, I’m going to be with them in the diocese for the rest of my life. One of them I will probably ask to preach at my funeral.” Deacon Hickey said he is looking forward to “being with them in this for the rest of my life in the intensity of that spiritual journey.” Along with his brother and seminary brothers, Deacon Hickey points to St. Thérèse of Lisieux as a spiritual mentor. “Her humility, her desire to bring other souls to Christ, and even wanting to do that with her time in heaven, is just profound. She’s been a really good friend along the way,” Deacon Hickey said. ‘This Is My Vocation’ Deacon Hickey has a clear desire to bring people to Christ as he prepares for his ordination. He said he is most looking forward to celebrating the sacraments, especially confession. After years of commuting back and forth between seminary and the diocese, he is excited to be here permanently so he can form relationships with people and be a “lifelong accompanier” of parishioners along the journey. Finding the quiet to hear God and saying yes to His plan has been Deacon Hickey’s path to the priesthood and to happiness. He is prepared to practice obedience to the bishop, who will have his “yes at my ordination.” Deacon Hickey said we should all “keep saying yes each day. One person we can model is Our Lady. She is the model of yes for us all. The Lord works through our yesses.” Father Jonathan Norton, the diocese’s director of seminarians, told Today’s Catholic that Deacon Hickey is a “man of calm strength. He is a genuine leader who seeks to serve the needs of others before his own. He truly loves Jesus and the Church, and I believe he will help draw many others to do the same.” The happiness Deacon Hickey is looking forward to on his ordination to the priesthood is already present in him as he exudes the witness to joy that pulled him toward the priesthood many years ago. “This is my vocation,” Deacon Hickey said, and his life as a witness to joy is a reminder to all of us to listen and say yes. “Whatever you’re called to,” Deacon Hickey said, “there’s happiness there.” When asked if he thinks his family and friends will see him differently when he becomes a priest, Deacon Hickey said, “No. What I hope is they’ll be able to see Jesus. That,” Hickey said, “seems pretty successful to me.” About Deacon Johnathon Hickey Home parish: St. John the Baptist, Fort Wayne Ordained a deacon: May 24, 2025, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne Favorite hobbies: Playing trombone, watching sci-fi movies, walking in nature, computer hardware, playing with dogs Favorite saints: St. Martin of Tours, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. John the Baptist Favorite Scripture: Galatians 4: 4-7 What made you want to be a priest? I started seriously discerning the priesthood my junior year at Bishop Luers High School. I have had a few experiences during this time of discernment where I felt a peaceful sense of clarity that I should pursue this desire of possibly going to seminary. One of these times took place after my parish’s 2018 Corpus Christi procession and afterwards having adoration. Right after adoration, I was given the Eucharist, which we were all adoring moments earlier in the monstrance! At that moment, I felt a strong desire to do what that priest was doing — giving people Jesus in the sacraments! This and other moments like it made me want to enter seminary. First Mass of Thanksgiving Following his ordination, Father Johnathon Hickey will celebrate his First Mass of Thanksgiving at St. John the Baptist Parish in Fort Wayne at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 7. A Corpus Christi procession will follow Mass, with a light reception afterward in the school gym (enter through Door No. 4 off the parking lot). A Holy Hour and first confessions will also be held the evening prior on Saturday, June 6, from 3-4:15 p.m. at St. John the Baptist. The post Meet the Ordinandi: Deacon Johnathon Hickey appeared first on Today's Catholic. ...read more read less