Show notes
In today's episode you will hear from Fr. Bryan Stitt!
Father Bryan Stitt doesn’t remember much of the day of his First Holy Communion nor anything of his Baptism. So the most significant day of his life was July 19, 2003—the day he was ordained a priest. He and his younger siblings were raised in Crown Point by Maria and the late-Douglas Stitt.
After graduating from St. Mary’s Catholic School and Crown Point Central School, Bryan attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. There he began a degree in Civil Engineering with plans to minor in architecture.
Those plans got dramatically changed when he finally decided to respond to a call that he first considered in the 4th grade. Bryan entered Wadhams Hall College Seminary in Ogdensburg in 1996. There he completed a degree in philosophy in 3 years and was then sent by Bishop Loverde to the Pontifical North American College in Rome.
In Rome his life was blessed as he experienced the Catholicity of the Church. There he studied with people from across the U.S. and from around the world. In Rome he also had exposure to the timeless history of the Church—praying not only with Pope John Paul II but also at the tomb of his predecessor, St. Peter.
After three years in Rome, Bryan was ordained a deacon by Archbishop Timothy Dolan (now the Cardinal-archbishop of New York) and the following year he was ordained Father Bryan Stitt by Bishop Gerald Barbarito back in Ogdensburg.
Since then, Fr. Stitt completed a license in Spiritual Theology at the Angelicum University, served as the personal secretary to Bishop Cunningham, and has had a variety of pastoral assignments. He has served at St. Peter’s in Plattsburgh, St. Mary’s Cathedral in Ogdensburg, St. Mary’s in Clayton, St. Patrick’s in Colton, St. André’s in Malone, St. Mary’s in Massena, St. Mary’s in Fort Covington, not to mention serving 9 years in the Vocations Office. Finally, in 2016, Fr. Stitt became the pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Canton, NY where he ministers to 600 families, a grade-school, and two college campuses. He is also the Diocesan Director of Worship.
When he is not in the church or the classroom, Fr. Stitt enjoys hiking, fly fishing, downhill skiing, doting on his three nieces and two nephews, but most especially he loves spreading the Word of God to people hungry to be nourished by the Bread of Life.
Enjoy hearing the two step path to growth in holiness that this pastor would prescribe to his typical parishioner. My favorite quote from the podcast:
"The spiritual life is a response to an invitation from God."
This episode is brought to you by the Secular Books with Spiritual Insights reading list. Each month I send out a book review that typically falls in the business or personal development arena, but rather than give a typical book review, I lay out the spiritual insights that can be gleaned from reading the book. It's a list that you can't find anywhere else, so visit dominickalbano.com and click on the free resources page to get signed up.
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