Seminarian Spotlight: Deacons LeMelle and Lewis Ready for Priesthood
05.08.25
Rev. Mr. Adam Lewis (left) and Rev. Mr. Kevin LeMelle at their diaconate ordination in April 2024
To say our journeys to this moment have been starkly different would be quite an understatement. And yet, through God’s Providence, our stories will converge in a special way when we are ordained to the Holy Priesthood in a few short days. Reflecting upon this reality, we feel a deep sense of gratitude for our formation and excitement for how the Lord will continue to use us for His greater glory in the future.
For me, Kevin, my story follows a pattern of actively turning away from pursuing the priesthood. I grew up as a cradle Catholic in Springfield, Ohio, and attended Catholic school through college at the University of Dayton (UD). Beginning at UD, I had grand ideas of being a doctor, then a successful businessman, and then finally a lawyer. I began to think about the priesthood my sophomore year at UD, but my idea of the priesthood was shaped by the fact that I couldn’t recall meeting a priest under age 50!
Continuing to follow my own desires, I attended law school at the University of Toledo. However, God got the last laugh and used this time to reshape how I viewed the priesthood. In the summer of 2012, I had the opportunity to study in Rome through a program affiliated with Villanova University and my roommate was a former seminarian for the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois. That summer he introduced me to many young priests in Rome who made the priesthood look vibrant and attractive.
I remember one day waiting in line for the Pope’s address when a group of seminarians came up and asked me to take their picture. They said almost prophetically, “We want someone with a vocation to take our picture on the steps of St. Peter’s!” At the time, I didn’t think too much about this interaction, though I had begun to think about the priesthood again.
But as I usually do, I followed what I wanted. I graduated from law school and got a job in Charlotte, N.C. working for a large bank. However, the thought of the priesthood continued to come up periodically, so I called Fr. Dan Schmitmeyer, Vocations Director for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Talking with him, I remember feeling a sense of peace and interpreted this as God telling me I was in the right place with my current work. I began bargaining with God, saying, “I’ll work until I’m 47 and then become a priest!”
This all changed in the summer of 2015. My roommate from law school invited me to his friend’s ordination in Joliet. Seeing the beauty and richness of the Ordination Mass was the kick I needed to finally surrender to God’s call. Two days later, I turned in my application for the Seminary.
Rev. Mr. Adam Lewis at Behold at St. Monica-St. George in Clifton, March 2025
On the contrary, for me, Adam, it is hard to remember not having the desire to live a radical Christian life. Even growing up as a non-Catholic in Wilmington, Ohio, I remember the subtle example my parents showed trying to live the Christian life as they knew it. Each weekend at church, my dad put money in the collection basket and my mom prayed fervently. Their actions communicated to me that they were committed and invested in trying to be good Christians, which I now realize had a big impact on me.
I didn’t become interested in the Catholic Church until I was in college at Wright State University. In 2014, I was invited to a Christmas Party by some family friends and met a high school friend’s husband there. We immediately hit it off, though he learned quickly I wasn’t Catholic and I found out he was working at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Dayton. We agreed to meet for coffee to discuss the faith and get to know each other better.
During our meeting, I told him about what I was reading from the Church Fathers and about the Eucharist. He must have heard the desire of my heart coming through as he listened and made a simple invitation for me to join him at adoration. This first experience in adoration was all it took to convince me I was called to become Catholic. I entered RCIA in 2015, and was fully received into the Church alongside the rest of my family at Easter in 2016.
However, merely joining the Church wasn’t enough for me, I still found my heart craving more. Funny enough, a short time after beginning RCIA, I had reached out to Fr. Schmitmeyer about pursuing a vocation to the priesthood. At that time, he told me I would have to wait three years before entering the Seminary because of the recency of my conversion. As one trying to live my newfound faith radically, this answer didn’t satisfy me so I decided to look elsewhere. In 2017, I joined a Franciscan community for eight months, but eventually left and returned home to Wilmington.
Soon after my return home, I remember having a heart-to-heart with my father about my life’s direction. He told me almost prophetically, “I think you joined the Franciscans and not the diocesan Seminary because you were afraid of not having the skills and competencies of a parish priest, but thought you could be a good Franciscan. But God isn’t looking for Jesse’s oldest son, He’s looking for a young man after His own Heart, a man of prayer, let him arise and be anointed.” The next day I called Fr. Schmitmeyer and told him of my intention to enter the Seminary at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology (MTSM).
These stories have led us to where we are today, merely days from being ordained together as priests. It is easy to laugh thinking about how the Lord can use both of us for His greater glory.
It also serves as a great reflection about how Jesus called twelve completely different men as His first twelve Apostles.
For both of us, MTSM helped us more clearly discern God’s will for our lives and come to full maturity in Christ in His humanity. Each of our unique stories are great examples of how MTSM cultivates each seminarian’s unique gifts to serve the Church as priests without losing sense of who God created us to be. Through God’s grace, we look forward to using our talents as priests to help people realize their full Christian dignity and foster better relationships with Christ and His Church.
Our brother seminarians rely on the prayers and support you provide us to pursue our God-given vocation, would you make a gift to MTSM to support men like us who are each unique, but pursuing the same goal of serving God through the priesthood?
Your friends in Christ,
Rev. Mr. Kevin LeMelle
Rev. Mr. Adam Lewis
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