Seminarian Spotlight: Noé Sifuentes
From: Salisbury
Age: 23
Home parish: Sacred Heart Church, Salisbury
Status: Started Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Cincinnati, in August 2022
Favorite Bible verse: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my savior,” an excerpt from the Gospel of Luke and part of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s greeting to her cousin Elizabeth. Our Lady’s words here are known as the Magnificat, where she gives praise to God for all of His blessings.
Favorite saint: St. Dominic Guzman, founder of the Dominican Order. He has the same last name as my grandfather. I love that, and the fact that St. Dominic helped bring about devotion to the rosary.
Interests (outside of faith): Watching sports and attending theater and concert performances.
CHARLOTTE — Noé Sifuentes grew up like many boys: playing video games, reading comic books and fishing – a “normal” childhood.
In his teens he learned the value of hard work alongside his uncle, hauling wheelbarrows full of heavy debris from construction sites. During these years he also began serving as a sacristan at Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury, preparing the sacred vessels for Mass, where the seeds of his vocation were planted with the encouragement of his pastor.
Sifuentes credits attending Quo Vadis Days and the Bishops Youth Pilgrimage, annual youth retreats held at Belmont Abbey College, as well as the Diocesan Youth Conference, as events that opened up his heart to hear God’s call to study for the priesthood.
His “new normal” of life in service to the Church began when he entered St. Joseph College Seminary in Mount Holly in 2017.
He graduated in 2021 and served a pastoral year at St. Ann Church in Charlotte. Last August he and nine of his fellow seminarians began studies at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Cincinnati. They are among 49 men currently in some stage of formation to serve as priests in the Diocese of Charlotte.
Sifuentes reflects on his journey to the seminary in a conversation with the Catholic News Herald:
CNH: Can you tell us about your life before you entered seminary?
Sifuentes: I was born in Salisbury but grew up in Mexico until I was 8 years old. I am the oldest of four siblings. I went to Catholic school in Mexico, then attended public school when I moved back to the United States. My friends at school did not go to church, and they did not understand my interest in my faith in my teen years.
CNH: When did you hear the call to a vocation to the priesthood?
Sifuentes: There were two times. My mom says when I was in Mexico in Catholic school, I first learned about the Eucharist and went home that day and told her I wanted to be a priest. In eighth grade, Father John Putnam, my pastor at Sacred Heart Church, encouraged me to attend a confirmation retreat, even though I had made my confirmation in Mexico. On that retreat I was in Adoration praying before the Blessed Sacrament and interiorly I heard a voice say, “Follow Me.”
CNH: What helped you discern your possible vocation?
Sifuentes: Besides attending diocesan youth events, just being at Mass with my parents and siblings, getting close to the priests at my church, and being around seminarians helped me see the priesthood as a possible vocation. Our priests and seminarians are normal people. Their example and mentoring helped me see they are genuine people I can look up to.
CNH: What is a fun hobby or skill you have acquired since attending major seminary?
Sifuentes: Pizza making! At Mount St. Mary’s we have house jobs, or duties we fulfill at seminary. I was the “pizza master” and learned how to make pizza from scratch. If you had asked me five years ago if I would learn that skill in seminary, I would have said, “No way!” We have pizza nights some Wednesdays during the semester. I love to make a chicken and pesto pizza in the pizza oven we have there. One of our Charlotte seminarians makes the sauce and the dough, and we get to create our own pizzas. I really enjoy our pizza nights!
CNH: What advice do you have for a young man discerning a call to the priesthood?
Sifuentes: I’m borrowing my advice from the book “To Save a Thousand Souls: A Guide for Discerning a Vocation to Diocesan Priesthood,” by Father Brett Brannen.
He writes: “God cannot drive a parked car, so just go.” He means, just do something about it! If you think you have a vocation, talk to a priest, to your parents, to a friend – do something about it. That’s what helped me and continues to help me. It’s not a matter of waiting. Go and do something about it.
— SueAnn Howell
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Steve and Susan Brock: Father Christopher Brock’s parents
We noticed Christopher’s calling when he was a very young child. When he was 2 or 3, he had a white plastic cookie he would keep in his pocket. Christopher called it his “Body of Christ.” One day he offered it to a neighbor. In addition, he has always said he wanted to become a priest. The various talents – intelligence, personality, willingness to serve, sacrificial spirit – that God gifted him with were all compatible with that desire.
The most important thing we did to nurture his faith besides living a Catholic family life, was that we homeschooled him. Keeping our kids out of the mainstream culture influences, and focusing their studies based on traditional Catholic teaching, has been a lifeline to keeping our kids rooted in the faith.
As a family, we prayed the rosary and attended daily Mass, assisted with the needs of the Church. There was no television. We looked for opportunities to share our faith with those of other religions. We made an effort to live our Catholic faith with 100 percent fidelity. This included standing up for what we believe and boycotting companies that support immorality even if that meant our lives would be more difficult. We didn’t put a lot of value in material things, and we focused on helping those in need.
In the days leading up to his ordination, our thoughts have been centered in gratitude as we see our son answering God’s call. The path Christopher has chosen will be challenging because the devil tries harder to win over those who have chosen to follow Christ more closely. However, it is comforting knowing that he has chosen to focus his life on heavenly things and will be surrounded by Christ’s grace in his efforts to be holy.
We are in awe and find it difficult to put into words our thoughts and feelings as our son becomes an “alter Christus.” We hope that anyone who reads this will say a prayer for him.
Uche Nnebe-Agumadu: Father Chinonso Nnebe-Agumadu’s mother
I was not aware of Chinonso’s call to the priesthood until he was in college, when he occasionally he would talk about it.
While in high school, he was an altar server at Queen of the Apostles Church in Belmont. On one occasion, an unknown elderly woman walked up to the music director and told her about Chinonso’s intended call to the priesthood. She said she saw a light halo on his head throughout the Mass which, according to her, is a sign of priesthood.
I believe strongly in family stability as a foundation for spiritual and self-development. I worked hard to have a stable, loving and supportive family that was a home for all in our African context. We, the parents, tried to make our Christianity as practical as possible through everyday charitable deeds and commitment to our
Catholic values. Praying together as a family was paramount.
Chinonso’s dad was an ardent devotee to Our Lady and the rosary as well as the Precious Blood devotions, and we all joined him on this path. Chinonso and his siblings grew up saying a daily rosary, sometimes reluctantly. I was often a part of this reluctance!
The rosary, nonetheless, remains my favorite personal devotion which I do at my own time, and together with the Divine Mercy Chaplet, I offer prayers for Chinonso.
As his ordination neared, I had mixed feelings of joy, gratitude, and occasional sadness. Sometimes, I feel like I am losing him to the Church. I am also conscious of the fact that his dad, who supported him so much on this journey, will not be there to witness his ordination.
My predominant state of mind is, nevertheless, joyful.
I am proud of his determination and resilience and his willingness to push on even when his twin brother didn’t want to join him in the seminary. I pray for him to remain joyful and be at peace as we walk toward his ordination.
William and Deborah Rusciolelli: Father Peter Rusciolelli’s parents
As a child, Peter and his brothers and sisters would “play Mass,” and he would often be the priest. Later as a teenager and as an altar server, Peter eagerly volunteered to serve Mass as often as possible.
Not only was he very serious about his responsibilities but he also carefully observed and absorbed the roles and responsibilities of the priest, the deacons and the parts of the Mass.
Looking back, putting importance on family unity may have been a big influence on his vocation. As a family, we did our best to attend Mass together and have daily prayer time and dinners together. We would discuss our faith and try to recognize how our beliefs are demonstrated in our day-to-day activities.
As we approached ordination day, we reflected on how very proud we are of his hard work and devotion over the past seven years to his studies in seminary and his faith.
We don’t know where God will lead him in this vocation, but for now, we are excited that he has finally made it to where his heart has been leading him: to be consecrated for the Lord.