Vocations: Pray for the men discerning at the Borromeo House, Austin

By Father Jonathan Raia | Guest Columnist

One of the best-kept secrets in the Diocese of Austin, in my opinion, is the St. Charles Borromeo House of Discernment. Named for the Counter-Reformation-era archbishop of Milan who pioneered the modern seminary system, the Borromeo House is a house of discernment and formation in Christian holiness operated by the Diocese of Austin. Residents seek to grow in holiness and personal maturity and to support one another in their discernment of their vocation.
The residents pay a modest monthly rent and are expected to be studying and/or working while living at the house. They pledge themselves to a rule of life that provides a pre-seminary type of environment and includes a daily morning holy hour and Mass, a weekly community night of fellowship and formation, regular spiritual direction, and involvement in a ministry or service of some kind. As a concrete expression of their commitment to discerning a celibate vocation (diocesan or religious), they commit to abstain from dating while living at the house.
The current property, situated just a few blocks north of the UT campus, makes it especially suited to UT students. This, in fact, was the desire of then-Bishop Gregory Aymond, who dedicated funds from the previous capital campaign to the purchase of the property, which includes two connected houses. The discernment house offers bedrooms for six men along with a kitchen, living space and a chapel. Another house, connected by a bridge, provides ample room for the diocesan Vocation Director as well as Father Kevin Rai, who provides formation as well as spiritual direction to the residents and to other discerners who come to the house once a month for discernment dinners hosted by the Vocation Office.
The men who choose to live at Borromeo fall along a spectrum of vocational discernment. Some simply desire an intentional environment to help them discern their vocation; others are seriously considering applying to seminary/religious formation and want to take a definitive next step; and others are already hoping to apply for seminary/religious formation and would like to begin transitioning to an environment more conducive to that formation. At times Borromeo has also housed international seminarians who are getting to know the diocese and/or studying English.
A good number of these men make the decision to begin application for seminary while they are living in the house. For some of our younger residents, the house has been their first experience living away from home and a valuable stepping-stone before seminary. And for men who have recently moved to our diocese, it provides me an accelerated way to get to know them and decide if they are suitable for the application process.
Of the 32 residents in the past six years, 15 have entered (or soon will) seminary for our diocese; one has entered for another diocese; and three have entered formation for religious communities. Of course, the men who leave have also gained valuable experience and formation; I have celebrated two weddings already for a couple of the men from my first year, and they still remember fondly their time in the house and how it helped form them as men and solidified their discernment of the married vocation.
The house also hosts seminarians during the summer, whether doing hospital chaplaincy, working at the diocesan Pastoral Center, or preparing to enter seminary. The community is a great benefit to the men, and it also gives me a better knowledge of them and their level of human formation.
I routinely get inquiries from other dioceses looking to start houses of discernment. The Borromeo House has been a tremendous help to me in my ministry as Vocation Director and is a valuable gift to those discerning a call to priesthood in our diocese. I am most grateful to Bishop Joe Vásquez for his continued support of the house and for the financial support of the people of the diocese, which enables us to offer this invaluable experience.
Father Jonathan Raia is a diocesan priest who was ordained in 2009. He serves as the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Austin. He can be reached at (512) 949-2405 or [email protected]