Introducing Intern Taylor Sanford

Dear Parishioners,
Ascension and St. Francis has once again been asked to host a seminarian this summer. In fact, we have been asked to host a deacon intern who will be with us from June till October as we provide opportunities for him to gain experience and to put all he has been studying into practice. We will welcome Taylor Sanford into our community beginning May30/June 1.  Unfortunately, because of the present situation, Taylor’s ordination to the diaconate (deacon) has been postponed, but may happen in August.  And so he will begin his internship as a lay seminarian, but hopefully will transition to an ordained deacon at some point.  I invite you to take a moment to pray for Taylor as he prepares to join us, but also, given the opportunity, to welcome him into our community.  Here is a short biography of Taylor.
Fr. Matt

Hello Donaldsonville Catholics!

My name is Taylor Sanford and I am excited to be assigned as your seminarian for the summer and into the fall. Before I get to know y'all individually, allow me to give a brief sketch of my life.

I was born and raised in Baton Rouge, attending St. George School and Church. In highschool I was an avid runner and proud member of the “orange wave” of Catholic High under the legendary Coach Pete Boudreaux. I first felt the Lord calling me to the priesthood in my senior year during a time of Eucharistic Adoration on a summer mission trip in 2010. But lacking trust, I just pushed the thought to the back of my mind and went on to LSU to study chemical engineering. It was at the Catholic Student Center on campus (Christ the King) that I fell in love with Jesus Christ and desired to lay down my life for His Bride, the Church. But it was not that easy of a decision. It was accompanied with much prayer, discernment, and typical millennial angst, until my heart finally found peace in entering seminary after graduation.

I am incredibly grateful for my time in seminary. The first two years of formation were spent in Covington at St. Joseph Seminary College (affectionately known as St. Ben’s because of the Benedictine Monastery it is attached to). Outside of prayer, study, and various formation events, I spent most of my time running the wooded trails and playing ultimate frisbee with the other guys. Upon graduating from St. Ben’s, I went across the lake to attend Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. It was quite an adjustment going from the slow, peaceful atmosphere of the monastery grounds to the busy city of New Orleans. But the city is finally starting to grow on me. On my runs I’ve exchanged dirt trails for streetcar rails and the pine tree for the Mississippi!

I have just completed my third year of theology, which puts me on track to be ordained a priest of Jesus Christ (God willing!) one year from now. We would normally call this time my “deacon internship” but due to changes stemming from the coronavirus, my diaconate ordination may very well happen in the middle of my time with y'all. If this happens, I expect every one of y'all to show up! Just kidding, but I do ask you to pray for me! Please pray that I remain faithful to the Lord’s call and that many more men and women will hear the voice of the Bridegroom calling them to leave all else to follow Him. He is worth it and He is never outdone in generosity.

I look forward to meeting you all soon and imposing myself on your hospitality! As I write this, we are still under the stay-at-home order. Hopefully this will lift soon. I cannot imagine what suffering y'all have been experiencing during this time, but I would be honored to hear about it and share that journey with you. I firmly believe this is a privileged time of grace. We know God does not create evil, but no evil arises from which He cannot bring a greater good. The Lord can do powerful things in our lives right now if we let him. Many of you have probably already experienced this and I would love to hear all about that, too.
I look forward to being with y'all this Pentecost Sunday. Until then, let us pray for each other.

In Christ,
Taylor Sanford

Taylor

Taylor Sanford 2