A Reflection on my Vocation Journey
Thursday 16th October 2025This autumn, we were delighted to celebrate the ordination of Fr Paul Chisnall to the sacred priesthood.
As Fr Paul begins his priestly ministry at Our Lady of Hope parish in Salford, he reflects on his journey to the altar and the events that led him to hear and answer God’s call to priestly life.
My name is Fr Paul Chisnall. I am 47 years old and I’m a newly-ordained Catholic priest in the Diocese of Salford.
Gone are the days, it seems, in this country where priests are being ordained in their 20s. Men are now being ordained in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and even 60s. What people call ‘late vocations’ are now no longer the exception but the norm. But still, why did I enter the priesthood when I am nearly 50 years old?
Jesus said, “Which of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one sheep which is lost, until you find it?” (Luke 15:4). Well, I was that one sheep, and in this article, I will tell you briefly about how I went from being a lost sheep to being a Catholic priest.
A Quick Chronology
I was born in Manchester in 1977, and I was baptised one year later in the Church of England. However, my parents were not religious people. I was raised in a non-religious home. I had no religious friends, and I went to non-religious schools. Basically, God and religion were not part of my world.
Then, about 15 years ago, when I was in the pub, Jesus’ name came up in conversation, and I was embarrassed that I knew nothing about Him. So, to learn more, I read a book about Jesus called The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. By simply reading this book, I was convinced that God existed and that Jesus was the Son of God.
Some months later, I had a strong urge to worship God publicly, so I decided to go to church. I began attending the Sunday service in a Church of England parish near where I lived. I began to pray and read the Bible. Saint Thomas Aquinas said that every person thinks their life to be about that to which they are most strongly drawn. It was to God that I was most strongly drawn, and so my life became about Him.
I was working as a computer engineer. My job was interesting and satisfying, but it wasn’t God-centred. What I wanted was to live a religious life, and so I began to pursue my vocation as a Church of England priest. Saint Paul said that “for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here.” So, I wasn’t surprised about wanting to change my career path.
However, in 2012, through prayer, I discerned that God wanted me to worship Him at my local Catholic church. I had no knowledge of Catholicism, and I didn’t know any Catholics. But I’m never one to shy away from a challenge, especially when it comes through prayer, so off I went to my first Mass in May 2012. Even though my Church of England parish had been good to me, I never returned. The Catholic Church was now the path God had presented me with, and I intended to walk it.
Embracing the Catholic faith and everything it involved came easily to me. I attribute this to the grace I received in baptism. I started praying the Divine Office and the rosary. Then in 2014, at the age of 36, I was received into the Church. I was now Catholic and proud.
The Constant Call to Priesthood
After becoming Catholic, my desire to become a priest had not gone away, but I believed that the Catholic priesthood was off limits for a convert like me. Nevertheless, I continued to seriously discern my vocation to the religious life. I joined a national discernment group, and I made several visits to Benedictine and Franciscan communities. But what I wanted to be was a diocesan priest.
I shared this desire with my parish priest. This led to me joining the diocese’s discernment group for the priesthood, and in 2018, I went to seminary at the Royal English College in Valladolid, Spain, and then in 2019 to St Mary’s Oscott, Birmingham. I was now where I wanted to be, and where I believe God wanted me to be. I was now in training to be a Catholic priest.
Thanks be to God, I was ordained as a deacon in December 2024, and in September 2025, I was ordained to the sacred Priesthood.
So, why do I want to be a priest? Firstly, because I am convinced that God wants me to be one – and if this is what He wants, then it’s what I want. Secondly, I want to help people to fall in love with God and then get to heaven. I could do this as a layperson, but I want to do it as a priest. I want to do it using the Sacraments.
In the short period of time that I’ve been ordained, I have loved saying Mass, hearing confessions, and anointing the sick. I pray to God that the love I have for His people, and His Sacraments, never goes away.
God bless you all. Please pray for me.
