Nick could not ignore the pressing on his heart as he ran his errands. It was a hot summer afternoon before the start of his junior year of high school, but the beads of sweat on his forehead and his slippery grip on the steering wheel had nothing to do with the heat. For months, heck, maybe even longer, an uneasiness shifted and pressed in on him, “You need to make a decision, you need to choose.”

Then suddenly, the tension was gone. Fresh air and a deep, steady sigh of relief.

“It just hit me,” he recalls. “The challenge of deciding between one or the other was lifted, and I felt a great peace about the choice of the priesthood.”

The direction for his life began to take shape, a nine-year journey that has carried now-deacon Nicholas Emmerling  to the Athenaeum of Ohio – Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and School of Theology, here in Cincinnati.

The oldest of eight children from Cincinnati’s West Side, his Catholic faith was woven naturally into family life. He attended St. Ignatius School through fourth grade, when his family transitioned to homeschooling.

“After we began homeschooling there was a noticeable change,” he says. “As a family, we began to develop a great love for Eucharistic Adoration. With our freer schedule, we served at Mass more frequently. It was here I felt my vocation being nurtured.”

In 2017, he entered seminary at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, OH, where he spent four years studying philosophy. Nicholas felt led to continue formation at Mount St. Mary’s, but to attend the Athenaeum stood a practical reality: the cost.

“I applied for scholarships,” he explains. “Seminary is rather expensive; I realized that I needed a way to continue my studies without worrying about the financial burden.”

As an archdiocesan seminarian, Nicholas received full financial assistance through the Catholic Ministries Appeal (CMA).

“Without CMA-supported scholarships, the seminary would have been practically impossible or unattainable,” he says. “There are many people that have sacrificed to make sure [archdiocesan] seminarians can continue their studies. I had freedom to enter the formation for priesthood, joyfully knowing that many people have already supported my journey.”

Dcn. Nicholas has stepped fully into the Divine invitation he first sensed years ago. The past nine years have allowed him to prepare not only for priesthood, but for ministry.

This spring, Deacon Nicholas Emmerling will stand with eight of his classmates at the altar of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in Chains as they become priests for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, in service to the local Church.

Behind this journey stands the generosity of the faithful who support the Catholic Ministries Appeal – many of whom may never meet the priests their gifts have helped form.

For Dcn. Nicholas, their impact is with him each day. “I realized that everything I have and have become is due to the generosity of others.”

-Article by Lisa Fletcher

For more about Deacon Emmerling’s journey, read the Catholic Telegraph’s Seminarian Spotlight.