I am Thomas Cain, a third-year seminarian at St. Paul Seminary. I have been living at Nativity of Our Lord as my January assignment, in order to get an inside look at the life of a parish priest.
I have been accompanying Frs. Tollefson and Erickson in their life and ministry, as well as getting around to the School classrooms, faculty meetings, and parish events, all to experience the wonderful things the Lord Jesus is doing at this great parish!
I grew up in small parishes and public schools in Wyoming and Oregon, went to college in Oklahoma, and worked in Texas as a structural engineer before accepting Jesus’s invitation to pursue seminary to become a priest.
Although I hadn’t lived in Minnesota since I was in preschool, I discerned to become a seminarian for this Archdiocese because my family roots run deep here, with my mom’s family in the Rogers area, my parents meeting and starting our family in St. Paul, and my parents now living in St. Michael.
I love to play board games or pick-up sports games in my free time, and I love to travel, both domestically or internationally to experience the beauty God has given us in our nation and in other countries and cultures. I also enjoy hunting here in Minnesota.
I’ve enjoyed my time so far here at Nativity, and I’ve appreciated the opportunity to meet many of you wonderful parishioners and students. I am looking forward to the rest of my time here, and I hope I can meet many more before I depart on Friday, January 24.
Please know of my prayers for the vibrant community of Nativity of Our Lord, and please pray for me in my continuing formation for the priesthood, and for your own parish priests!