Br. John VanDorpe, LC

I'm the oldest of seven kids of a normal Catholic family.  I'm a big baseball, football and basketball fan and enjoy reading literature and history.  I started serving mass as often as possible as soon as I could, and was always close to the priests at my parish.  But I never thought I could be a priest.
 
Then, for the first time I met a Legionary priest and seminarian, Fr. Matthew VanSmoorenburg and Br. Michael Sullivan.  Thinking back on that moment, I realized they were everything I had ever wanted to be, without realizing it: intelligent, good at sports, but above all, you could feel their closeness to Christ radiate off them.  From then on I started going to the boys' club meetings, and retreats on some weekends.  That's when I met other guys who were like me.  Pretty soon I ended up on a 16 hour bus trip to New Hampshire where the apostolic school was at the time.  I think it was my first time there that I felt the attraction to leave home and attend the apostolic school.  I had found home away from home.  It's not that I was sure from the start, and so I decided to spend eighth grade at home, but came back for my ninth grade year in 2004.  Three years later I joined the Legion of Christ as a novice and was sent to Dublin, Ireland for two years.
 
The adventure of my vocation over the last ten years has brought me to four countries, had me learn to speak three languages and to read two others, and so much more.  But more than anything else, I find that following the call that Christ made to me, at first almost imperceptibly has filled me with joy and peace that nothing else can give me.  
 
As of now, I have four more years of study before my ordination.  This next year I will make my perpetual vows: to live my whole life in poverty, chastity and obedience, consecrated entirely to God.  It's something I could never do on my own, but I have seen that when Christ asks me for something, he also gives me the strength in Him to fulfil it.