The Diocese of Austin is hosting a video series entitled The Call, in which priests who serve in the diocese share their experience in hearing God’s call to the priesthood. Father Sam Bass, associate pastor of St. Margaret Mary Parish in Cedar Park, was ordained in 2023. Father Bass grew up in Austin and is a convert to Catholicism who heard the call to the priesthood as a young adult.

Shortly after college, through the examples of priests and religious as well as his good friends, he entered the church and began to hear God calling him to the priesthood.

He was introduced to the Benedictines of Weston Priory in Vermont and to the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in New York City, where he witnessed “true friendship and brotherhood, community life, a balance of prayer and work.”

As he worked on a small farm, he felt a stirring in his heart. He began to ask, “Lord, could you possibly be calling me to consecrate my life to God?”

Eventually Father Bass moved back to the Diocese of Austin and after visiting with the vocations directors and attending the Heart of Jesus Men's Discernment Retreat, he heard the call to diocesan priesthood.

“It was like God opened a door that there was a sense of peace, a sense of rightness,” he said.

The Call can be found on YouTube (search “Diocese of Austin The Call”), and the videos have been shared on the Diocese of Austin Facebook page.