NEW PRIEST: FR. CARLISLE BEGGERLY

This weekend, Bishop Kopacz ordained our newest priest. The Mississippi Catholic did an interview with him recently, and here are two excerpts on his background and interests:

What is your vocation story? Who influenced you and why?
I grew up Protestant. In college, I read St. Augustine’s Confessions. This led me to seek out the church to which he belonged. I entered the church after instruction from Father Bill Voller in Hattiesburg. I felt a call to priesthood from the beginning of my conversion. I spent about a year and a half with a religious order. However, I did not feel it was the right fit for me. I left and went to law school but continued to feel a calling to priestly life. After completing law school and working for awhile, I entered seminary for the Diocese of Jackson.

What draws you to diocesan priesthood? And to the Diocese of Jackson?
I am very much a son of Mississippi and Jackson Diocese. I want to minister to the people who have helped form me through the years. My family and friends also live here, and I want to be near them in the future.

–Fr. Aaron Williams