My Daily Domestic Diigolet 09/16/2008

Paul Sullins, a professor at the Catholic University of America, said the average age at ordination has risen by 10 to 15 years since the 1970s — part of a national trend toward increased education and later-life commitments.

“An increasing proportion of priests today are entering their second or third careers,” said Sullins, adding the trend may help relieve the shortage of priests in the U.S.

Monsignor Paul Showalter, vicar general of the Peoria Diocese, agreed. Showalter said, in general, the trend toward older priests is beneficial.

Bies, for instance, can identify first-hand with parishioners who are out of work

because he was without a job several times as a machinist.

Horton, likewise, hopes his experience in the corporate world gives him more empathy for parishioners stressed out by everyday business life.

Hardest for Bies was giving up some of his independence. As a priest, he’s bound to his parish and that “takes a bit of getting used to,” he said.

Knowing that “God is using you to bring solace and peace,” helps him cope, he said.

The celibacy requirement is actually a gift, said Bies, because it “frees you up to see all people as part of your family.”

He converted to Catholicism from Apostolic Christian as an adult. His new religion, he said, struck a chord he couldn’t ignore.

He, too, thinks older priests, because of their life experience, may have more to offer.

It’s that maturity that leads Horton to realize there’s no going back.

“It (being a priest) is not just your job, it’s your personal identity,” said Horton, who surprised at least one former co-worker by his mid-life switch.

“That switch (from actuarial work to priesthood) is like a 180-degree turn,” said Lisa Mullen, who played on the softball team Horton coached at Country Financial.