Father Patrick Le was in middle school when he first caught a glimpse of something so joyful and powerful … well, as they say, you never forget your first love.

“Even though I thought about other vocations, it was always there, my first love as it were: diocesan priesthood,” said Father Le, ordained in the Archdiocese of Vancouver almost five months ago.

He was only 10 or 11 years old when he noticed his parish priest at the time, Father Richard Au, serving the faithful joyfully and with meaning. At a young age he realized he wanted to do the same. As his faith grew, so did his desire for the priesthood. In Grade 7, Patrick went to Vietnam to visit family and along with a large crowd of people he witnessed a miracle at the shrine of Our Lady of Tapao, where the statue seemed to be inhaling and exhaling.

“Each person comes to faith in a different way, and for me it happened to be a breathing statue,” he laughed. But the “greatest miracle is the conversion of heart and when someone turns to the Lord.”

The Tapao statue ignited a spark in his chest that the witness of his parish priest and a books on sainthood and Eucharistic miracles fanned into flame. Soon he was going to daily Mass and thinking that if he became a priest, he could never miss Mass again. He entered the Seminary of Christ the King in Mission in Grade 8 and completed his high school studies there. Again, the powerful witness of his mentors, the monks at Westminster Abbey, helped him realize his calling to be a priest.

“The seminary gave me everything, spiritually, pastorally. I truly call all the monks up there my fathers … they raised me up.”

He describes his deep desire to be close to the Eucharist as a natural step toward the priesthood.

 Father Le was ordained at Holy Rosary Cathedral July 1 and is now serving as an assistant pastor at St. Matthew’s Parish in Surrey. As the third largest parish in the archdiocese, it’s a busy community and he is trying to find a balance in his schedule and rhythm of life.

The summer was full of weddings, marriage preparation, and related paperwork, and the fall seemed to be particularly busy with funerals. Besides these central responsibilities, there are many one-on-one meetings and spiritual direction, visits to schools, meetings with various parish groups, confessions, and up to 10 hours a week of homily writing, along with other tasks.

Although it’s been a challenging transition from deacon to priest, it’s been made smoother by several factors, including his continued connection with the monks in Mission. He visits them often, seeking prayerful support and spiritual direction.

He is also grateful for the openness that high school students have shown him. 

“It’s very encouraging and the Holy Spirit is moving and lots of young people are responding to the call of the Lord, if not to the priestly or religious vocation, into ministry, into serving, into bringing other people to Christ,” he said.

The support of parishioners has also been a source of joy, and he has found Catholics of the Archdiocese of Vancouver seem to “love their priests.”

Has anything surprised him about his first love, his dream, his calling, so far?

“The biggest surprise is the grace of God and waking up every day, regardless of what the schedule is like or how busy it is – the gratitude and the joy of having the privilege of serving God and his people. It never wears away.”