IT WAS 28 YEARS AGO TODAY, I ENTERED ST. KIERAN'S SEMINARY IN KILKENNY..........

Just returned last Friday night from my 2010 summer holidays in Ireland, and my, "Second Home", KilKenny, this is the date in 1982, that I entered St. Kieran's Seminary, in KK, as a first year seminarian for the Diocese of Sacramento.  Why was I 6,000 miles away from home, a native Californian, and 25 year old Sacramentan, at the start of my priestly formation ?  Because of the visionary leadership and gracious leadership of the late Reverend Father Martin Joseph Campion, the then Rector, and from 1983-90, the President of St. Kieran's Seminary and College.  Wanting to recruit an American seminarian to broaden the horizons of the all Irish, ecclesiastical students - Fr. Campion chose to invite me to be that American seminarian.  And what a learning and growth experience it was for me, as well as for them.  At the 4 pm hour when we were due to arrive, Msgr. Kavanagh's oldest brother Matt, drove me through the front gates of St. Kieran's College.  Wearing my bright green CSU-Sacramento fraternity jersey, with the large gold Greek letters, Lambda - Chi - Alpha - on my chest, with brown, plaid, pants, so as to stand out among the assembled gathering, I eagerly greeted them with a bold and loud, "Hello, Troy David Powers, Sacramento California, USA !".  From his second floor window in the dorm, where his mother and oldest brother had just delivered him, was Freshford, County Kilkenny first year, Oliver Desmond Maher.  Seeing and hearing me, he then 19 years, and wondering what being a seminarian would be like, thought to himself, "Oh no, don't tell me I am stuck in here with a loud, color blind, Yank like that !!  The next morning the twenty of us first years were driven across the city, to Peace in Christ Retreat House, where we underwent a three day orientation retreat, meeting with each member  of the seminary faculty.  And those three days together forged a bond, so that by our return to St. Kieran's, for the start of classes, Oliver and I had bonded and became the best of friends and brothers, and have been ever since.  My two years as a seminarian 1982-1984, before coming back to Menlo Park, California and St. Patrick's Seminary, to complete my formation for priestly ordination, were not only an excellent experience for me (and hopefully the other lads) but seminal to solidifying friendships that continue to be part of the bedrock of my life as a person, and a Priest of Jesus Christ.  28 years later as I reflect back, I truly believe it fulfilled the primary reason I gave Bishop Francis Anthony Quinn regarding accepting Father Campion's St. Kieran's Seminary invitation, that is - to affirm the more than a century's worth of Irish priests and religious women, who have served us in the Diocese of Sacramento, with their vocations; and to be somewhat Sacramento's ambassador back to Ireland, and to Kilkenny, to acknowledge the bridge they built to us.....Here I am, more than a quarter of a century living my priestly vocation, as a locally grown Sacramentan, who vividly continues to call Kilkenny, my second home..........Fr. Troy

>>>On this first Monday of the New Parish Year, as I prepare for the start of the new Parish Secretary / Office Receptionist  Keith Gray, tomorrow - I had appointments with three of my medical team doctors and a meeting with a fourth one.  I saw Drs. McMonagle, Bhat, Cookson, and McClure, for my post Annual Evaluation assessments and vacation care, as we forge the way forward in staying on top of my continuing kidney transplant care and diabetic management.  What a fantastic team of medical specialists they are for me and all whom they serve.....fr.tdp