Cameron Banigan

Introduction/Tell things about you, your family, your Catholic journey
Hello! My name is Cameron Banigan. I was born on November 19th, 1996 in Aurora, IL to my parents Frank and Julie Banigan. I have one older sister and one older brother, Jackie andStephen. We grew up Catholic and attended St. Rita of Cascia before moving to Peosta, IA for my dad’s work. We then attended St. John the Baptist in Peosta for Sunday mass and faith formation, and public schools in Dubuque. I graduated from Hempstead High School in 2015. After high school, I attended University of Iowa for four semesters before finishing my degree at Kirkwood College. Most recently before seminary, I had been working at Dupaco Credit Union for over two years. Hobbies of mine include fishing, camping, bicycling, reading, and chess.

Throughout my younger years, I found myself interested in faith and I pretty much always
believed in God. But as I grew older, there were certain doctrines of the Church I did not agree
with. I found the Church outdated and I began to question it all. For instance, if God is real, why
is it that there is so much suffering in this world? If God is real, how come so many people at
church seem to treat this would-be extraordinary truth as completely mundane? I didn’t
understand. I believed there was something more to our existence, but did not believe it was in
the Catholic Church, or at the very least the Church was poor at teaching it. With the help of
some bad influences, I fell away from the faith in late high school and into college. After living
the ways of the world for a few years, I hit a real low point in my life. It was around that time, by
the grace of God, I was converted to our Lord Jesus Christ and to the Catholic faith!

Where/when did your sense of call develop?
After my conversion, I had a great desire to live out a good, holy Catholic life. Around this time,
when I was 23, I listened to a priest online speak about vocations. He taught that God has a
specific will for each of us in this life, and that we need to pray to Him asking for it to be revealed to us. He then recommended parents teach their children to pray about their vocation starting at 12 years old... What!? I missed that boat!! Hopefully God still had something planned for me so late in the game, I thought. I began to pray nearly every day asking God through Mary’s intercession to make my vocation known to me. However, truthfully, I really was hoping my vocation was marriage. I had a dream of marrying a beautiful, faithful Catholic wife, having at
least 10 kids, homeschooling them in the faith, attending daily mass, getting a piece of land,
making a lot of money and living a devoted Catholic life. This all sounded really beautiful to me,
but the thought of priesthood continued to come up and I realized I never really left that option
open to God.

After much prayer, I eventually spoke to my pastor Fr. Schueller about the possibility of
priesthood, and with his advice I reached out to the vocation director, Fr. Seda. Fr. Seda and I
had a great meeting over some breadsticks at Olive Garden where he gave me some more
resources for discernment. He also recommended I begin spiritual direction. I did this for some
months. In the fall of 2021 I visited Mundelein Seminary, where Dubuque’s major seminarians
attend. There, on the first night I found a great sense of peace and clarity. I could see myself
there. Afterwards, with my spiritual director’s advice I began to pray about this peace. In doing
so, I came to see that when I thought about seminary and priesthood I sensed this peace, but
when I thought about marriage this peace was not there. This had me believe perhaps God was
really calling me to the priesthood. After mentioning this with my spiritual director it was then he told me it was his heart-felt sense that God truly was calling me to the priesthood. Astonished and grateful, I realized it was time to apply for seminary.

Were you invited by others to enter seminary?
No, not exactly. I never really had others encourage me to consider the priesthood as some
priests and seminarians have experienced. However, once people knew I was applying, many
co-workers, family, and members of the parish let me know they thought I would make a great
priest.

What was your main motivation in pursuing your call?
My main motivation is pursuing God’s will for my life. It is said that in our true vocation is where
we are best able to grow in holiness and share the gifts our Lord has given us. It also brings the
most peace and happiness to our souls. I wish to live out that vocation. Over time I have come
to believe more and more that seminary is what God is calling me to, and despite my initial
reluctance, I now believe I would really enjoy serving God’s people as a priest!

Who were/are your biggest influences?
My biggest influences throughout my life are probably my parents. My father and mother have
always been there for me in a way which reminds me of the unconditional love of God. I
especially look up to my father as an example for how I ought to live. He has always been there
to provide for us, and he has helped me navigate the world as I’ve grown older. Other great
influences would be Fr. Ripperger - the priest whom I first learned about vocations from, Fr.
Schueller, Fr. Seda, Fr. Coolidge, and the seminarians I met at Loras before applying.

What advice would you give to other men who are discerning their call?
The best advice I could give to others is to pray to Our Blessed Mother. Ask for her intercession
and let her be your guide. She will not fail you. Know that she cares a great deal about you. I
would also say give it time. Your vocation may not always be as clear as you would wish it to be.
This is a great opportunity to remember our primary vocation - that of holiness, and focus on
what you can do today to help others and yourself get to heaven. Lastly, don’t worry and have
faith! Our Lord is the best giver of gifts and He loves to give to those who ask. “If you then, who
are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11)