Introduction/Tell things about you, your family, your Catholic journey My name is Matt Mitchell and I was born to Michael and Susan Mitchell in November of 1996 in Des Moines, Iowa. I have one younger brother with whom I was raised outside of Des Moines in a suburban area of Waukee. Here I attended school through Waukee schools until 2015 when I graduated from Waukee High School. Throughout my high school years, I was quite involved in music and sports including Marching Band, Jazz Band, Football, and Baseball. We attended St. Boniface Catholic Church in Waukee for the majority of my childhood and adolescence. Though I was not very interested in faith formation in these years, I did participate in several mission trips to El Salvador where I first encountered poverty and the reason for our faith. These first encounters with people in material poverty planted a seed within me that would later bear fruit.
It was in these years also where an entrepreneurial spirit was developing within me. I was very much a do-er growing up, and this spirit eventually translated into beginning my first company in the Landscape Design industry. From 2009 to 2019, (throughout my high school and college years) I fell in love with the outdoors and participating in the design of the outdoors. This is what propelled me into Iowa State University from 2015-2020 where I studied Landscape Architecture and Environmental Studies. I was convinced that I wanted to own a landscaping company and begin a family in suburban Iowa. This was my original dream.
Where/when did your sense of call develop? My call began developing in my early college years at Iowa State. I had a re- conversion to the faith through living in intentional Catholic community with other guys my age where we would pray together, eat together, and feast together. The community life at St. Thomas Aquinas also played a large role in my discernment. During my first year at Iowa State, I went on a vocation visit with Fr. Seda to Dubuque and upon leaving, I was certain that this was not were I was called. Instead, I began discerning religious life and welcomed a call to serve the poor in a Franciscan way of life. Though this wasn’t the typical trajectory, I began falling in love with Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin’s writings about the Catholic Worker and its mission to serve the poor. Shortly thereafter, my aching entrepreneurial spirit began dreaming of a community of brothers working to serve the poor and live intentional life together. This became a reality in 2020 when the Ames Romero House Catholic Worker opened for hospitality to the poor. It was through repeated encounters with those in poverty (both material and spiritual) that I had gained the confidence to accept that I was being called to the celibate life.
Were you invited by others to enter seminary? I was often invited by others to discern going into seminary, though it took me a long while to discern how and where. I felt a strong call to community life and service to the poor, but after responding to that initial call, I could see clearly God was calling me to enter the diocesan seminary. Through my time as the director of the Ames Romero House, I saw transformation in so many lives even beyond those we were dedicated to serve. It was through participating in building the Kingdom of God on earth that I saw so many in my community fall back in love with the Catholic Church.
What was your main motivation in pursuing your call? In prayer, I have often felt the invitation to ‘Radicalize the Complacent’ and how could this not be diocesan priesthood? Though my heart will always have a place for the poor, I believe that priesthood is most attractive for me because of the opportunity to bring people into a deeper relationship with Jesus in the Catholic Faith. Our lack of love for one another in this age showcases the huge need for a reinvigorating of the faith in community, from the ground up.
Who were/are your biggest influences? Through the many seasons of my life, I’ve found the saints and the faithful Servants of God to be a big influence in my journey. These include Dorothy Day, St. Francis, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Oscar Romero, Henri Nouwen, and Thomas Merton. However, from those living, I would say firstly, I was greatly influenced by my pastors at St. Thomas Aquinas (Fr. Seda and Fr. Digmann) whose love for Jesus was contagious. Secondly, I was greatly influenced by a dear friend and mentor of mine, Eric Evans, who first invited me into discipleship throughout my college years. Finally, I would say my friends that I met in college and beyond had a lot of influence on me especially through the community life we lived together.
What advice would you give other men who are discerning their call? Be bold and do something! Go and meet those on the streets, volunteer regularly at a pantry, befriend the man in the median on your way to work. This encounter will change your life, and as long as you remain open to Jesus’s voice, he will launch you into a life adventure greater than you could imagine.