After studying engineering and commerce, two thirty-somethings ordained priests in Rouen
Two new priests have been ordained at Rouen Cathedral (Seine-Maritime) by the Archbishop. They are two thirty-somethings, Martin and Louis. They chose this vocation after studying engineering and business. We met them.
The choice of a life for Louis, 31, and Martin, 33. They are the 29th and 30th priests to be awarded in Rouen (Seine-Maritime). This had not happened since 2020. This Sunday, July 3, 2022, they were ordained priests.
However, before the seminar, they had a “classic” life: studies, a business school for one and engineering for the other. But becoming a priest was ultimately a vocation that appeared as a teenager for Louis:
“I grew up in the faith in Rouen thanks to my parents. Since the age of 15 I have wanted to be a priest. After my higher education at the Rouen business school, I said to myself that I had to give myself a year to choose, to know if that was really what I wanted to do.After a year, I went back to training to become a priest.
Martin himself experienced business life in Dieppe as an engineer. A change of life that he had to announce to his family. “Opinions were quite divided. For some a lot of joy, for others it was a little difficult. It’s a fairly important change of course. But over the years, they saw my fraternity that there was among the priests, they are now reassured and happy for me.”
It was therefore at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Rouen that Louis and Martin were commissioned by Monsignor Lebrun, Archbishop of Rouen.
To be a priest is not to parachute down from the sky with lots of great ideas, but to walk with people. I advised them to welcome them as they are.
Monsignor Lebrun, Archbishop of Rouen
This year the church ordained 122 new priests. A lifestyle choice that is becoming increasingly rare. In recent years, their number has dropped in France by almost 50%. But Louis keeps the faith: “I want to show that being a priest and being happy is possible. I am in hope and trust.”