Soul man

May 16, 2008 - 08:53

By Jillian Follert

OSHAWA -- When Kevin Belgrave was a kid growing up in Oshawa, being a priest was never part of the plan.

Sure, his family went to mass regularly and he attended Catholic schools but his career dreams were purely secular.

At one time he thought strong math and science grades meant he was destined to be an engineer. In high school, he was bitten by the theatre bug and convinced his calling was to work backstage on Broadway.

"Being a priest was certainly not a childhood dream of mine," he said recently, just days after being ordained as one of seven new priests in the Archdiocese of Toronto.¨The change in direction came about when Fr. Belgrave was in his third year of a theatre production program at Ryerson University.

"On the surface, everything looked great. It was an exciting time for Broadway in Toronto, I was having fun at school, I had the great apartment and great roommates," he said. "But I gradually started to feel a restlessness and an unhappiness and I couldn't figure out why."

Thinking it might be the stress of life in the big city, he picked up and moved to Quebec to study French. But the feelings of unease followed him.

Even though it had been years since he had gone to church, he decided to try talking to God.

"There were no visions from heaven or clouds opening, it was just a simple heart to heart talk," Fr. Belgrave said. "But it was a conversation that changed my life."â?¨ He said God told him he had been living his life selfishly and could find more fulfillment by serving others.

It was a concept the future priest wrestled with for years, before finally entering St. Augustine's Seminary at the age of 26.

Studying to become a priest is an intensive experience. The process is called "formation" and typically involves five years of training including 30 academic courses and a semester of pastoral practicums.

On May 10, Fr. Belgrave was ordained alongside six of his classmates in a ceremony presided over by His Grace, Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto at St. Michael's Cathedral.

He can now perform mass, anoint the sick, hear confession, absolve sin and perform marriages and baptisms.

The class of 2008 also includes a former mechanic, a university football quarterback and a doctor of economics, all ranging in age from 29 to 50.

Fr. Belgrave turned 32 on May 13 and while that may seem young for a priest, he said the age men enter the seminary is dropping, with a lot of new students starting in their early 20s and being ordained before 30.

When he begins his first assignment next month as associate pastor at St. Luke's Parish in Thornhill, he will be counselling and guiding many people who are two or three times his age and have much more life experience.

"Even though I'm younger than a lot of the people I'm going to serve and I may not know some of the things they know, I feel like I'm equipped to provide spiritual counsel after the training I've had," he said. "Somehow, God makes it work."

Thirty-two is also a young age to take on the weighty commitments priests must make, including a lifelong vow of celibacy.

"I see celibacy as being just the other side of the coin from marriage," Fr. Belgrave said. "Instead of saying I give myself completely to you, body and soul, to your spouse, you're saying it to God."

He said the celibacy vow is just common sense because it allows priests the necessary time to pray and take care of their congregation -- something men focused on marriage and family would be less equipped to do.

And he is quick to point out that even without sex, priests can still have fun.

"I love the outdoors, I go camping and canoeing a lot. I go out for dinner, I go to the movies, I go to the cottage with my classmates from the seminary. I have friends from high school that I still see a lot," he said. "Yes, it's a life given totally to God, but it's a very human life too."

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