Jan 3, 2026 / 12:26 pm
Xavier Polisetty, 25, a seminarian from Texas, encouraged men considering the priesthood to trust that God will give the grace to continue.
“I always felt the call at the back of my heart. It never went away,” he said with a smile.
Hundreds of seminarians are attending the SEEK 2026 conference being held in Grapevine, Texas, this week with thousands of other young Catholics from around the country.
As a child, “I played Mass like a lot of other Catholic boys,” said Polisetty, who grew up in Grapevine. He also noticed that his parents, whose faith he described as devout, admired the priests they knew, and he felt from the beginning that he wanted to be one of them.
While studying computer science at Texas A&M University, he participated in several ministries through St. Mary’s Catholic Center, including a weekend retreat called Aggie Awakening, which he said emphasized the importance of having a relationship with Christ. He said he also made several good friendships where a relationship with Christ was at the core.
After graduating in 2022, he entered seminary at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and is halfway through his seven years of seminary training.
Polisetty said he was inspired by Father David Michael Moses’ words on the first night of the conference: “Being a priest means that you are so close to Jesus Christ, when you say, at Mass, ‘This is my body,’ Jesus makes it become his body,” Moses said. “When a person walks into confession, when you say ‘I absolve you,’ you are so close to Jesus you speak for him.”
Polisetty said he is sure he is called to the priesthood but does experience doubts “almost on a weekly basis. When I watch movies, or look at stories of people doing great things in business or in family life, it’s easy to be tempted.”
He said he dated a young woman in college with whom “there were miscommunications. It was hard.”
But, he continued: “That’s where the gift of God’s grace comes in.”
“God has used those desires to bring fruit to my ministry even now, and hopefully one day when I am ordained. The experience and empathy my journey has given me; though it’s been difficult at times, but God’s grace, every time; he’s given me the grace to continue.”
He encouraged young men to consider the priesthood even if they struggle with accepting the celibacy aspect. “Everyone has those desires,” he acknowledged. “I have those desires, all my brother seminarians have them. We’re open about them and talk about them.”
“It’s a greater gift to give God,” he continued, “to offer up those desires for the sake of a greater good.”
“When parents see their newborns, they often say they love more than they ever could have imagined they could. It’s the same thing in the priesthood. Being in environments like this SEEK conference, you see all these Catholics, and it gives me this great love,” he said.
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“I want to be ordained so I can minister to them. They’re seeking. By being a priest, I can love them in that way. There’s sacrifices involved, but every lifestyle has that,” he said.
“Christ on the cross shows that sacrifice is our path to salvation,” Polisetty said. “It’s a great blessing. There are so many reasons to say no, but God will give you the grace to say yes. There will be so many gifts.”
