Kevin Kayda
I
am originally from Carlisle, Pennsylvania. I am the eldest of three children,
having two younger sisters. I first thought about the priesthood when I
was six years old, but I thought that priests only had to work one day a
week and got to watch cartoons the rest of the week. As I grew older I
kept thinking about the priesthood, but I never received any real
encouragement for it, especially from my parents, who wanted me to pass
on the family name and find a job that paid well. After high school, I
went to West Virginia University for my freshman year to study
pharmacy. However, after my first chemistry class, I realized that
I didn't like
chemistry and looked to change my major and my search led me here.
The two priests from St. John’s University Parish at that time, Fr.
Victor Udechukwu and Fr. Donald Higgs, encouraged me to apply to this
Diocese instead of going back home to Harrisburg. After this, I was in
Wheeling for two years studying at Wheeling Jesuit University under the
tutelage of the Diocese. In the fall of 2007, the Diocese sent me to
St. Vincent Seminary to finish my college degree and to obtain my
pre-theology credits. I hope to be ordained around the year
2013. I believe that the person who influenced my vocation the most was
the late deacon of my home parish. I did not realize it at the time,
but what he taught me about the faith stays with me to this day. Every
week he would come into our classroom for an hour, and either answer any
questions we had or go over a difficult area of the faith. However, I
think just his living out the Catholic Teachings was what would later
set me on the path to the priesthood.
I am a die-hard Pittsburgh fan: Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates in that
order.
I love to go hiking and fishing, something that I do not get to do
enough during the seminary year or the summer. I also enjoy learning
about history and of course praying. The thing I like best about the
seminary is all of the opportunities there are to grow in ones spiritual
life. There are plenty of priests for confession or different prayer
groups going on. In a parish, a priest has to struggle sometimes to
find time to pray, but that time is built into the Seminary’s schedule.
This summer I will have a great opportunity to continue working on the
Spiritual aspect of my development, as Tom Gallagher and I have been
accepted into the Creighton University Institute for Priestly Formation
Program in Nebraska. Here we will have a 10 week course on deepening our
prayer and spiritual life, something I am looking forward to.