Martin Beers
Propaedeutic StageBlessed Stanley Rother House of Formation at Mount St. Mary's
University of Notre Dame (MA)
Thomas Aquinas College (BA)
I grew up in Blacksburg, VA. My parents are converts to the Catholic faith, and I was raised Catholic from around age eight. I attended Thomas Aquinas College in California where I studied the Great Books. While I was in graduate school (studying philosophy), I felt the call to discern religious life and the priesthood, and specifically to enter the Benedictine monastery in Norcia, Italy. I spent a year and a half in formation there, but at the end of my novitiate I decided not to stay. Over the next four years I taught at two different Christian classical schools (first in Michigan, then in Virginia) and also worked in parishes in Charlottesville and Christiansburg, VA. Those years were marked by struggles with chronic health problems – both mental and physical, but were also a time of great healing and personal growth. I continued to nurture a desire for the priesthood and eventually was able to begin studying for the Diocese of Richmond. My favorite activities include backpacking, singing Gregorian chant, and reading, teaching, and discussing all that is true, good, and beautiful.
Home Parish: Holy Spirit, Christiansburg
Favorite Saint: Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati
Favorite Book: Priestly Fatherhood by Fr. Jacques Philippe
Hobbies: Backpacking, baking, Gregorian chant
