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Seminarian finds God’s faithfulness in adventure of life
- Emily Woodham
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
By Emily Woodham
Staff Writer
Seminarian Ian Willnerd describes his life before seminary as “normal.”
“I was born and raised in Boise,” Ian said. He was baptized in St. Mark’s Parish in Boise. After a move to the east side of Boise, his family transferred to the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, where he received the rest of his sacraments.
But during a Sunday evening Mass, his “normal” led to the extraordinary.
“I had a profound encounter with our Lord at Mass when I was in high school,” Ian said. “I just knew the Lord was there and that He loved me.”
Because of that experience, Ian wanted to be Confirmed. “I just really wanted to know God more and experience Him more,” he said.
For his Confirmation saint, Ian felt drawn to choose St. Simeon, the prophet who greeted the Holy Family when the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph dedicated the Infant Jesus.
He especially loved St. Simeon’s words from the passage in the Gospel of St. Luke 2:29-32: “Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word, for my eyes have seen Your salvation . . .”
“It resonated for me because Simeon spent his whole life waiting for the Messiah. Then once he held Jesus in his arms, he basically said, ‘Lord, this is it. I can go now.’ And I think my own encounter with God in high school was like that: ‘Lord, this is what I wanted. Now, You can do whatever You want with my life.’”
After his Confirmation, Ian felt an openness to do whatever God wanted of him. He began asking God, “What are You asking me to do with my life?”
The idea of becoming a priest didn’t come as a demand, but as a “gentle knock on the door” of his mind, he said. His senior year of high school, he reached out to Father Caleb Vogel, who was vocations recruiter, currently vicar general, for the Diocese of Boise.
Ian also met with discernment groups led by Father Nelson Cintra, who, at that time, was a seminarian serving his pastoral year at St. Paul’s Parish in Nampa.
“It was during that time that the question in my mind went from, ‘God, are you calling me to be a priest?’ to ‘Why are You calling me a priest?’” he said.
Ian wrestled with the question of ‘why’ and fears of his ability to be a good priest, until later that fall at a youth group retreat in McCall. While there, he decided to go to the altar to receive prayer during a time of praise and worship.
As soon as he knelt down, he poured out his heart to God while a youth leader prayed over him.
“In prayer, I asked God, ‘What if I’m unhappy? What if I’m not holy enough? What if people don’t like me? What if I’m a bad preacher?’ It was a litany inside my mind that just went on for a while,” Ian explained. “Then the man who was praying over me suddenly stopped and said, ‘I think the Lord wants me to tell you to follow the path that’s been laid before you so you can help others.’”
The man’s words broke through all of Ian’s fears. He felt the Lord say, “Go and be a priest.”
Ian chose to attend Bishop White Seminary after his high school graduation in 2019.
“It’s a smaller seminary and a really good experience. It’s where I took the initial first steps of really becoming a full-grown, Christian man.”
While there, he also enjoyed aspects of campus life at Gonzaga University. His senior year of seminary he was president of the Gonzaga pro-life club.
In the fall of 2023, he went to St. Paul’s Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he began his theology studies.
“Picking a favorite class at St. Paul’s is almost like asking to pick your favorite children,” he said. “The classes just blend so well together: dogmatic theology, grace, fundamental theology, Mariology, Christology . . . It’s really hard to choose.”
One of the most difficult things about seminary has been realizing the call of who God wants him to be and the reality of how much he needed to grow into that call.
“God made me to be so much more than I want for myself. The transformation process has been difficult at times: receiving His grace and then trying and failing and trying again.”
In the process of this spiritual growth at seminary, however, the consolation of God’s love has been constant. “The best part about seminary is receiving the love of God the Father through all the difficult places in the journey. He has poured it out through the Sacraments. Also, His grace has been through the priests who have formed me and my wonderful brother seminarian brothers.”
The community within seminary has been a great support, not just in growth, but also in camaraderie and fun. Outside of classes, Ian hiked, ran marathons and skied with his fellow seminarians.
In January of this year, he studied in Rome. “The best part was meeting Pope Leo and being able to speak with him briefly,” Ian said. “Another major highlight was going to Bologna to visit the tomb of St. Dominic.”
Ian is a member of a chapter of the Third Order Dominicans. “I have a lot of peace and feel the presence of a spiritual father when I pray with Saint Dominic. His entire life was driven by his zeal for souls and to draw souls back to the Church and to Christ.”
Ian also likes passing time reading books. “I love reading and enjoy good literature. I read a good number of novels a year.”
Stories, he said, help shape how a person sees life. “It’s good to approach your life as in a wonderful adventure story. Your life is a gift from God, and God has so many surprises in store for you. Also if we think about the best adventure novels or movies, the quest is great, and it’s also difficult. There are challenges along the way, but we have to embrace the plan that God has revealed to us through our prayer and the events and people in our lives.”
Men who are considering seminary have nothing to fear, Ian said, because God is with them in the adventure of their lives and in their discernment. “God loves you all along the way. He will lift you up when you’re done, and you’ll find that He’s most present when you are hurting the most. His faithfulness in seminary is how you know that He will sustain you in your priestly vocation.”
Ian’s ordination to the transitional diaconate is at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 27 during a Mass celebrated by Bishop Peter Christensen at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Boise.
Following his ordination to the transitional diaconate, Ian will serve at St. Mary’s Parish and St. Augustine’s Student Center and Parish in Moscow. His time during the academic year will be spent between classes at St. Mary’s, St. Augustine’s and St. Paul’s Seminary.
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