A “light switch moment” in a confessional gave Deacon William Duffert the nudge he needed to start serious discernment for the priesthood. At the time, Deacon Duffert had been teaching for three years following college graduation.

After the priest absolved him of his sins and Deacon Duffert got up to leave, the priest asked him “out of left field” if he had ever thought about the priesthood, which he actually had for more than three years. Hearing the priest’s question made him realize that there might be some weight to the question he said had been on his heart.

“Honestly, it was like a spotlight all of a sudden was being placed right on that spot in my heart that I had not shared with anybody, and that I was trying to ignore,” Deacon Duffert said. “The Lord was trying to show me that there is something to this calling that I placed on your heart since junior year of college, and it’s time to look at it. God might actually be calling me to discern the priesthood,” he said.

Deacon Duffert, 32, will be ordained as a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis May 29 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. He grew up in Champlin, graduated from Totino-Grace High School in Fridley in 2006 and from St. Mary’s University in Winona in 2010, then worked as an English teacher. As a college student, he wanted to graduate, start working, get married, have a family. But deep in his heart, he felt a stirring, and a question remained about whether God was calling him to the priesthood.

He recalled the “young, joyful priests” who served at his home parish, St. Stephen in Anoka. “Just seeing that constant variety of priests coming in with a lot of joy and being able to relate to them and thinking, ‘I think I do want to do that; I want to be a priest as well.’”

At the time a newly ordained priest himself, the priest in the confessional encouraged Deacon Duffert to start going to eucharistic adoration, which he did — after work and sometimes before. Whenever he’d be in the chapel in front of the Blessed Sacrament, he asked the Lord to guide him. And, if priesthood was where God was leading him, to show him the path.

“That’s when I started noticing the fruits of the Holy Spirit have been a big part of my vocation,” Deacon Duffert said. He noticed a lot of joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, love and other gifts of the Holy Spirit and a deep, abiding sense that the Holy Spirit was leading him in the direction of priesthood.

Deacon Duffert said in priesthood, he was most looking forward to entering “those privileged moments that come with priestly ministry.” As one example, part of his summer assignment as a deacon meant he accompanied a priest performing anointing of the sick.

“I quickly realized that that’s part of the ministry I’m looking forward to,” he said. “Just to walk with people, to walk with families, to walk with their loved ones in a moment like that is something I’m looking forward to because it is a great privilege to be able to bring the light of Christ, to be able to bring Christ into those moments.”

He will be celebrating a Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Stephen on Sunday, May 30, at 10:30 a.m., and also looks forward to celebrating a Mass at his teaching parish, Holy Family in St. Louis Park, and thanking the pastor and parishioners for being part of his vocation story and formation.

Deacon Duffert said it was good for him to see how the pastor at Holy Family, Father Joseph Johnson, works with all the parishioners to help them grow, and to participate in areas of parish life, such as the confirmation program and marriage preparation. “I think those are some of my fondest memories — just being able to help out with those specific parts of normal parish life,” he said.

He said it was special this past year to minister as a deacon, preaching or the first time at Holy Family and baptizing children. And he learned how Father Johnson, even during a pandemic, still worked to help his parishioners grow closer to Christ.

Asked about his feelings leading up to ordination, Deacon Duffert said he kept going back to the fruits of the Holy Spirit. “I feel those have always been leading the way for me,” he said. “I feel a lot of gratitude and the fruits of the Holy Spirit are leading the way.”

Each ordinand chooses a Scripture verse for the back of his ordination prayer card. Deacon Duffert chose one special to him, Galatians 5:22-23: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”