The wish of Deacon Paul Hedman’s great-grandmother is about to come true.

It began when his grandfather, Harold Trombley, attended Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary in Roseville to discern the priesthood when he was in high school. Trombley eventually left, leaving his mother, Mable Trombley, “heartbroken” that she would not have a priest in the family.

Decades later, Deacon Hedman, 25, showed signs of interest in a priestly vocation during early childhood as a member of St. Raphael in Crystal. That will culminate with his ordination to the priesthood May 30 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

“When I was like 2 or 3 years old, my dad has pictures of me playing Mass, walking around the house with a toy broom pretending that that was a crucifix, or me wearing a blanket — that was the chasuble,” Deacon Hedman recalled. “My mom noticed this and started sewing me vestments. And, I started playing Mass with saltines and grape juice.”

His next step was wanting to be an altar server. He was hoping to start the role right after receiving his first Communion in second grade, but he had to wait until fourth grade due to parish policy. Ultimately, that experience, plus parish youth group and programs like Extreme Faith Camp, helped him “encounter Jesus Christ as a person” during middle school, he said.

But, as a teenager, he became interested in girls and video games, and tension developed between him and his parents, who homeschooled him all the way through high school. He decided to go out of state to college and chose Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, where he planned to study computer science.

During his freshman year, he went to Mass and got involved in some activities at the Catholic college, but admits he “wasn’t super strong” in his faith. That changed when he came back home after his first semester. On the fourth Sunday of Advent at St. Raphael, he recalled looking up during the eucharistic prayer and being stuck by the priest elevating the Eucharist.

“I just got this huge, booming feeling in my heart, like I want to do that,” he said. “And, I was like, ‘Where did that (feeling) come from?’ I hadn’t thought of priesthood for four or five years at that point. … It was just out of nowhere. And, I was like, ‘Well, that was kind of weird.’”

When he went back to campus after the semester break, he joined a discernment group and eventually felt a pull toward the priesthood. The question then was whether to go to St. Pius X Seminary in Iowa for the Archdiocese of Dubuque or The St. Paul Seminary for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

A third option would be to just continue his studies at Loras and dismiss the “booming feeling” during Mass at St. Raphael.

As he wrestled with what to do, a woman came up to him after Mass at the college and said she felt God encouraging her to tell him “that he’s directing your discernment and he’s going to lead you wherever he wants you to go,” Deacon Hedman recalled.

“So,” he said, “from that point on, I kind of just let go and let God, sat shotgun and let him drive.”

He sensed God calling him to go to the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, home to St. John Vianney College Seminary, so he transferred to the university and started his sophomore year there as a seminarian in 2013. He graduated from St. Thomas in 2016 with a degree in philosophy and a minor in computer science. That fall, he began his priestly formation at The St. Paul Seminary.

As he looks ahead to ordination, Deacon Hedman can’t help but think about his great-grandmother and feel like something has come full circle.

“She has passed on,” he said, “but she’s going to have a great-grandson who’s going to be a priest now rather than her own son. So, I hope that’s good enough.”

Deacon Hedman “is really excited” about celebrating Mass, a desire that goes back to his days as an altar server. He also looks forward to hearing confessions and “bringing God’s mercy to people,” he said.

“I really enjoy preaching as well,” he said. “I did a lot of theater in high school and college. So, that kind of transfers. Usually, what happens is that I’m pretty intimidated before (the show). And then, I get up there, and it’s all good. It all goes well. I’ve really enjoyed preaching as a deacon. And, I’m guessing that I’ll really enjoy that as a priest as well.”