The Power of Faith
By N. Rizzo
During a party at the Staten in October, after talking to his family, CSI student Hunter Salvatore Healey made the firm resolution to speak to a priest about his vocation.
“For me, there was no point in wondering what if anymore because it will only bring you so far before you lose the thought or make it into a reality,” Healey said. “So, I stopped only entertaining the idea of being a priest and decided to make it my reality.”
Despite Healey coming from a non-religious family and not being religious himself, he chose this direction. Going from a child who was forced to go to a Catholic school with no interest in it, as Healey expressed, shows how going into a completely different direction in life can transpire.
“I first saw videos talking about Christianity, specifically on TikTok,” said Healey. “At the time, I held anti-Catholic views before evolving into Christianity, but it inspired me.”
Furthermore, Healey’s father was someone who never attended mass, yet when learning of his son’s choice to become a priest, he was overcome with pride, so much so that he almost cried at the thought of it. Much like his father, his mother never attended mass either.
Healey lost his mother suddenly at a young age, but during the time he had with her, she was significant in enlightening him about the saints. The loss of his mother ultimately had an impact on his spiritual insight, with a core belief that leaving this world connects to no more suffering.
Healey’s inspirations came from those saints, as well as the idea of heaven. His experiences up until this point in his life made him feel close to God and come to true faith. This was a pivotal moment in Healey’s return to Catholicism.
An instrumental part in Healey’s calling is Father Carlos Limongi, who is a pastor at St. Joseph and St. Mary Immaculate. In CARA’s 2024 study, nine out of ten respondents reported receiving encouragement from at least one person who was important to them, with many saying their parish priest’s encouragement helped the most. Father Limongi met Hunter six months ago and reflects upon this time.
“Our relationship started because he mentioned interest in the priesthood, so he joined this discernment group at my parish where we meet weekly to discuss his path to priesthood,” said Father Limongi. “In the time that I have known him, he’s dedicated, motivated, and disciplined hoping to fulfill God’s call for his life.”
Despite this, Catholicism is not the sole center of his commitment. Healey wants to have a huge impact in helping people. This is why his time at CSI is valuable to him, as he is studying psychology because he knows this will be a useful tool in his life as a priest as parishioners confess their problems to him.
“In heaven, we will be worshipping God for the whole eternity,” said Healey. “When I see things in the world, none of it compares to him.”
