Three Rancho Bernardo brothers are preparing to become priests

Three brothers from Rancho Bernardo are discerning the vocation of being a Roman Catholic priest — a call from God they said came in childhood.

Adrian, Darius and Troy Lawrence are the sons of Neia and Joe Lawrence. The brothers, along with older sister Tatiana, grew up in Rancho Bernardo and attended St. Michael’s School in Poway. The brothers joined the Legionaries of Christ’s seminary as teens.

The Legionaries of Christ is a religious congregation of priests founded in 1941 with religious communities in 22 countries. They are missionary priests who travel the world sharing the word of God. Some work at parishes, but others evangelize via other means.

Adrian, 27, said he first felt the call while attending a surf camp with the Legionaries. He was 11.

“I believe God touched my heart first by the example of the Legionary priest who was the camp’s chaplain, Father Thomas Maher,” Adrian said.

He requested to attend the Legionaries’ apostolic school in New Hampshire for boys in seventh to 12th grade discerning the priesthood. His parents asked him to wait until freshman year.

“I was surprised because Adrian was rather rambunctious as a child and I hadn’t envisioned him as a contemplative and peaceful priest,” Joe said. “He was tough as nails, ambitious and boisterous, yet he had a pure soul with a heart of gold.”

Neia said Adrian’s call was less of a surprise to her because despite his childhood antics, he had a “very spiritual nature quite early on. He would say the most beautiful and insightful prayers as a little tike.”

He attended the summer program, a month-long opportunity to see if seminary life was for him. “I felt as if it was the place God wanted me to be,” he said. “I still remember that I felt (Blessed Mother) Mary very present during that month. She was there to help me take that step of generosity.”

Darius, 20, said his call came around age 7, after visiting Adrian at the seminary.

“I had already admired the Legionary priests I had met up to that point, and while visiting ... I was struck by the kindness they showed me, and the joy of the young seminarians,” Darius said. “I felt at home there, and God placed a desire to live like the seminarians there. This desire was the seed of my vocation.”

Troy, 18, said he was 6 when visiting Adrian at the seminary. “I remember being profoundly struck by the brotherly charity of these young teenagers and by their enthusiasm to proclaim the Good News,” he said, adding the words said by one boy, who quoted Pope St. John Paul II, “totus tuus ego sum” (I belong entirely to you) “struck a deep chord in my heart.”

Darius and Troy entered in eighth grade.

“We were steadfast that they should go in high school, (but) after many prayers, unequivocal signs from Our Lord and serious conversations with them, we relented, because we saw how much our oldest son was thriving and growing in his faith and maturity,” Neia said.

“Yes, my wife and I had our reservations,” Joe said. “We felt that we weren’t finished raising our children. ... But in retrospect, we now know that they received the very best education and formation possible. ... They fully developed their mind, body and soul to become pure, compassionate and responsible men. They weren’t corrupted by the evils of our society.”

After apostolic school, there is a summer discernment process before joining the novitiate (two years), where they receive the title “brother.” Discernment includes working on an associate’s degree in classical humanities (two years), bachelor’s in philosophy (three years), option to earn a master’s in philosophy (two years) and bachelor’s in theology (three years), before ordination to the priesthood, when they get the title “father.” Adrian said between their first bachelor’s degree and subsequent degrees seminarians have two or three years of apostolic internship.

“This is a time when you put your formation up till then to the test in a real apostolate of the Legion, like youth ministry, teaching in our apostolic schools, helping with the discipline and the religious formation of boys in our schools,” he said, explaining it is a 12 to 14 year process to the priesthood compared to the normal formation of a parish priest that usually is seven to eight years.

“We have such a long formation path for various reasons,” Adrian said. “We feel that a Legionary is called to have a formation that will enable him to do a large variety of ministries and deal with people of various social levels. It is also necessary for the candidate to form in himself that Legionary style of priesthood that caught my attention when I was just 11 years old. This implies a well-rounded formation in many areas, such as spiritual, intellectual, character and ministerial aspects.”

Adrian is in the first year of his master’s program. He estimates he will profess his perpetual vows in two years and be ordained as a priest about five years from now.

On Sept. 6, Darius professed his vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and started his humanities courses where “we study the history of our modern-day culture in order to better understand it,” he said. “This is important in order to better know how to transform our modern culture and society and re-elevate it.”

Troy is a first-year novice. On Sept. 14, he received his cassock and said much of his time is spent praying and learning the Legionary lifestyle as he further discerns God’s call for his life. “I am truly loving this life and hopefully growing much in my prayer life,” he said. “After these two years, God willing, I will publicly profess my vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and humility, and thus officially enter religious life.”

Adrian said his brothers following in his footsteps was not a big surprise to him.

“Maybe a little in the beginning, but after reflecting on it a little, Christ himself seemed to have a thing for calling brothers,” he said. “There are Peter and Andrew, James and John, and many other examples throughout the history of the Church. I feel that my family is really blessed.”

Having a brother in the seminary “actually played an important role (for me),” Darius said. “If my older brother hadn’t decided to go to the seminary, I would never have visited the seminary and perhaps never have felt the call to be a priest. He was an instrument in my vocation. But of course, my vocation has always been (my) own and God can choose many ways to call.”

Troy said having brothers in the seminary played a part in his vocation because it exposed him to the possibility, adding he was also impacted by changes he saw in Adrian’s mannerisms towards others.

All three said they were not surprised their calls came at such young ages and they are OK with never marrying or having children.

“When I was very young I had said I wanted to get married and have 10 children,” Adrian said. “My mom reminded me of that when I told her I wanted to join the apostolic school. I answered that if I am a priest everyone will be my spiritual children.”

“It is true that I will never marry or have children,” Darius said. “Forming a family is a beautiful vocation, and one that I give up. It is a sacrifice, but nevertheless, as a priest, one’s family grows immensely. As a priest, all children become my children. ... The love I would have had for my wife, I give to God and to the souls I meet instead.”

“I admit that at first I joined the apostolic school with not much of an idea of what the priesthood really is,” Troy said. “I saw that life there was fun, joyful and serene, and I loved it from day one. As I have progressed in my formation, I am coming to realize what a gift and mystery the vocation is, and I come to value it more and more, and desire it more and more. It is not about giving up my family, my future or my future family, but it is about giving back to God what he has graciously given me.”