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 Michael Rhodes, associate pastor of St. Albert the Great Parish in Austin, who was ordained in 2025, said he first heard the call to the priesthood as a young child.

Raised Baptist, he shared how as a boy he would read Scripture and his illustrated Bible and see pictures of the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant through the wilderness.

“And something spoke to my heart as a child that I wanted to be like one of those guys, even though I didn’t know what the priesthood really was,” Father Rhodes said.

Years later after attending Texas A&M University and entering the workforce, he discovered the Catholic faith, apostolic succession and the Eucharist.

“My heart was inflamed with the love of God because the church gave me the ability to become that priest that I think I was called to be ever since I was a little boy,” Father Rhodes 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.