For the next nine months, Holy Trinity parishioners will have a unique role in helping prepare a future priest for ministry.

Seminarian Ian Novakowski has begun his pastoral internship at Holy Trinity, a key stage in his formation for the priesthood. During this year, he will move beyond the classroom and into the everyday life of the parish, learning what it means to serve people through liturgy, ministry and ordinary encounters.

And Ian says one of the most important things parishioners can do is simple. “Pray for me,” he told Parish Pastoral Council members this week. “And that’s not a small thing. I think that’s a big thing.”

Ian grew up in Fort Saskatchewan and was a longtime parishioner at Our Lady of the Angels Parish. His journey toward the priesthood, however, began with a childhood story that seems almost to foreshadow what came later.

A Journey that Start with a Surprise at 5 Years Old

Ian was five years old when he was baptized. Outside the church was a playground, and that was where he wanted to be.

“I was running down the aisle towards the playground and my parents chased me down, brought me back to the altar with my family and then baptized me,” he recalled.

What Ian remembers most is the priest smiling after pouring the baptismal water over his head. As a five-year-old, Ian could not understand why. “What’s the joy in this?” he remembered wondering. Years later, he sees that moment differently.

“That story just always stays in my mind because in so many ways that’s kind of been my journey of faith,” Ian said. He described being attracted by everything the world offered, but gradually discovering “true joy and fulfillment in what the Church offers in the sacraments and in the person of Jesus Christ.”

Growing up, Ian became involved in altar serving, music ministry, youth ministry and the Catholic Family Life Conference. A Catholic youth conference later helped deepen his faith and awakened a growing sense that God might be calling him to something more.

After studying at Concordia University of Edmonton, Ian visited Madonna House in Combermere, Ontario. It was there, he said, that the call to pursue priestly ministry became clearer.

He entered seminary in the fall of 2019 at age 20, just months before COVID-19 disrupted life around the world. Now in his eighth year of formation, Ian has completed much of the academically intensive portion of seminary and has one more year of studies remaining after his internship. God willing, the next steps would eventually include completing his master’s degree and moving toward ordination to the diaconate and priesthood.

But this year is deliberately different. “This year really is a pastoral focus,” Ian explained.

Not and Employee of the Parish

At Holy Trinity, that will mean involvement in catechesis, schools, parish ministries, office life, liturgies and the many less predictable parts of parish life. He is also living at the rectory with Father Paul, giving him an opportunity to see priestly life not only publicly at the altar but in its day-to-day reality.

Father Paul emphasized to council that Ian has not come to Holy Trinity simply as another set of hands.

“This is a year of learning,” he said. Ian will establish specific formation goals and work throughout the year with Father Paul, his seminary supervisor and a committee of parishioners who will accompany him.

Ian also stressed that he is not a parish employee. He has been assigned to Holy Trinity by the Archbishop as part of his formation. That distinction matters because discernment does not take place only between a seminarian and his professors. The Church community has a role as well.

Ian explained that before ordination, the Church formally asks whether a candidate has been found worthy after consultation with those responsible for his formation and with the people of God. This internship gives Holy Trinity parishioners a chance to become part of that process. “Am I called to be a priest?” Ian said. “And is that something that you guys sense during this year?”

That discernment will happen not only at Mass or in formal parish programs, but through relationships.

Being Part of the Holy Trinity Community Outside of the Parish

Ian encourages parishioners to let him know what is happening in their lives and to invite him into the community. “If there’s something going on in your life that you feel you can welcome me into, I’m available. Let me know.”

Fortunately, Ian should not be too difficult to entertain. Outside parish ministry, he enjoys playing piano, singing karaoke, board games, cycling and just about any sport. And then there is food. “If you have an extra spot around the dinner table, I’m available!” he joked in his introduction to the parish.

That invitation may soon become quite practical. Father Paul told council he hopes to begin arranging parish home visits, possibly starting in November, where parishioners can invite him and Ian for a meal, coffee or simply a visit. For Ian, those ordinary conversations around kitchen tables may prove every bit as important as what happens in a classroom.

As he begins his months at Holy Trinity, he says he is grateful to Father Paul, Father Joselito, parish staff and parishioners for welcoming him and supporting his continuing discernment toward diaconal and priestly service. For Holy Trinity, the coming months are an opportunity not only to welcome a seminarian, but to accompany him.

And, as Ian himself requested, to pray for him.