When asked what it was like watching his father become a deacon in the Catholic Church in 2020, Nathan Blanchard reflected on what he had just witnessed, describing it as “powerful.”
“I can only hope that one day God allows me to follow in my father’s footsteps,” the then-23-year-old said.
In this Jubilee Year defined by St. Paul’s teaching that “Hope does not disappoint” (Romans 5:18), Nathan will see those words fulfilled on his way to answering his own call.
On Nov. 22, nearly 5 years to the day Nathan witnessed his father, Dcn. Greg Blanchard, formally enter the diaconate, Nathan will be ordained a transitional deacon as he continues his final phase of preparation for the priesthood.
The Rite of Ordination to the Permanent Diaconate will take place at San Francisco de Asis Church in Flagstaff, Ariz., where Dcn. Greg has been a deacon since November 2020, and where those members of the Blanchard family still living in Flagstaff worship and serve.
Bishop John Dolan will celebrate the rite.
“It’s going to be a very joy-filled day,” said Dcn. Greg.
“It’s humbling,” added his wife, Christina Blanchard. “We are in awe of what God does.”
Nathan will serve as a deacon on weekends at St. James the Apostle Church in San Antonio, Texas, where he is finishing academic studies at Assumption Seminary. The part-time role will allow him to devote the bulk of his energies to schoolwork.
He is scheduled to be ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Phoenix next year.
Among 55 current seminarians, Nathan is part of the largest group ever in the diocese.
The fourth of six children, Nathan showed a very early awareness of the priesthood, according to Christina.
“He was less than 2 [years old], barely able to speak,” she recalled. “He would get up into the presider’s chair [where the Mass’ main celebrant sits on the altar], and say, ‘Father Nathan, Father Nathan.’”
At age 5, his parents fulfilled his request with a ceramic paten and chalice to play Mass at home with his siblings.
Nathan did have thoughts of other career choices, entertaining the idea of becoming either an astronaut or a zookeeper. But, he always kept going back to being a priest.
The real call came on a summer retreat prior to seventh grade.
“On the very first night, we were attending Mass,” he recalled, “and I kind of ‘tuned out.’ I was kneeling before Communion, and I realized I was just going through the motions.
“What happened next, I know, didn’t come from me,” he continued.
As Nathan walked up to receive the body and blood of Christ, he recalls struggling mentally and spiritually to address the sense of dispassion.
“[The moment] after I took the cup, the Lord spoke very directly. He said, ‘Nathan, I want you to be a priest.’”
As the moment sunk in, Nathan’s eyes welled with tears, his heart filled with joy and excitement.
“I cried the rest of the Mass,” he recalled.
The experience left Nathan with no doubt as to God’s direction for his life.
Educated at home through high school, he graduated at age 18, enrolled soon after at Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, the only pontifical seminary in the United States.
He spent four years there before completing three years at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver.
At that point, Nathan faced his first real challenge, one that would prove pivotal in his journey.
His commitment to God’s call hadn’t changed, but he found himself feeling increasingly disconnected from the process and his surroundings.
“I wasn’t in a good mental state. I needed to take a break from studies,” he said.
God still had a plan for Nathan, though. He wasn’t telling him to alter course.
Then-Vocations Director Fr. Paul Sullivan, who also is rector of Nazareth Seminary in Phoenix, the diocese’s local seminary, spoke with Nathan, suggesting it was time for a reset.
Nathan paused his studies, moved to Phoenix, and was hired as an electrical apprentice by a small private company. He lived at Nazareth House — the first of four local formation homes, now named St. Gregory’s House — and shared chores with other seminarians at Nazareth House. He also talked regularly with Fr. Sullivan and his fellow formators, and shared his story during a personal meeting at the invitation of Bishop Dolan.
The break allowed Nathan to rediscover the joy of being formed as a priest.
“He felt known and loved again. He was ready to go,” Christina said.
In August 2023, he decided to spend a semester in Spanish-language culture immersion, serving with the Missioners of Christ in Comayagua, Honduras. A Catholic Christian community, Missioners offers a medical clinic, teaches catechism and performs home visits to the sick, all while bringing the Gospel to the community.
Nathan returned to the United States in January 2024, and enrolled at Assumption Seminary. Now in his fourth semester, he will graduate next spring with a Master of Divinity and a Master of Theology. He is on pace to be ordained to the priesthood in June 2026.
A sister’s story
Nathan is not the first Blanchard offspring to discern a vocation to the priesthood or religious life.
One of his older siblings, Sr. Rene Noel Blanchard, O.P., entered religious life with the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in 2010, taking her final vows in 2018. Formerly a teacher at St. Thomas the Apostle Elementary School in Phoenix, Sr. Rene Noel is now a middle school religion teacher at Holy Family Catholic School in Austin, Texas.
Greg said Sr. Rene Noel’s decision and personality have had a profound impact on Nathan.
“It was very encouraging for him, to have a sister committing herself to the Lord. She has a very bold personality. She’s the type who’s all in,” he said.
“It’s interesting, how different their ‘calls’ were,” observed Christina. “She felt a call over a year and a half. Nathan’s was pretty much over his whole life.”
Sr. Rene Noel told The Catholic Sun in a 2017 article that as a child, hearing the stories of Catholic saints — both prominent and lesser-known — prepared her heart to consider religious life.
Those stories “started to plant that seed for the desire of holiness and to be able to ask the questions of how God is calling me to be holy and how He is asking me to be a saint,” Sr. Rene Noel said. That growing interest further blossomed during a meeting with a Dominican nun on a diocesan youth retreat, which quickly developed into a visit to the Michigan motherhouse. She entered the community right out of high school.
Her bold, intentional response impacted Nathan.
“I did get some pushback in the community not to go to seminary right away; to get some experience first in the ‘real world,’” he said. “I still went because of my sister’s example.”
Sr. Rene Noel is expected in Flagstaff along with Nathan’s other siblings for his diaconate ordination.
Family life
An engineer for a medical device manufacturer, Dcn. Greg said he and Christina never tried to steer their children into vocations.
They didn’t discourage it, either.
“Our goal mainly was always to raise [them] to know the Lord, Who God is, and to have that prayer life,” he explained.
“Children can start praying at a young age,” added Christina. “They realize they can talk to God.
“We also tried to give our kids opportunities, such as retreats.”
The Blanchard children also were encouraged to find who they each were as individuals.
“Who am I, and what does God want me to do in light of that?” Christina said. “To know oneself is super important. I hope we have tried to have them do that.”
For Nathan, it has meant matching a friendly, unassuming individual with a heart of a spiritual father.
“[Nathan] can make friends with anyone. If you can’t get along with Nathan, you can’t get along with anyone. He’s definitely good with people.”
Christina added, “He’s not the type who is the center of attention. He’ll find the person in the corner of the room and strike up a conversation with them. [It’s] generosity and the desire he has for people to be their best.”
If Sr. Rene Noel’s and Nathan’s callings make the Blanchards an extraordinary family, their parents don’t see it that way.
“We’re an ordinary family,” Christina said. “I don’t think we’re much different from other families. God calls who He wants from among those raising their kids and doing the best they can.”
