Caring for the sick and feeding the hungry have always been important to Deacon Samuel Martinez. As a registered dietitian, he performed these tasks daily for his hospital patients. That was before a divine prompting to the priesthood put a new spin on these works of mercy. “The Lord was certai nly asking me to care for the sick and feed the hungry in a more particular way than what I was doing,” said Deacon Martinez, who at one point even worked as a baker — a fact that isn’t lost on him as he jokingly ponders the Lord’s musings: “Yes, Sam, you want to feed people with bread. Great! OK, well maybe it’s just the wrong bread,” Deacon Martinez recalled. “It’s kind of comical looking back now.” On Saturday, June 6, Deacon Martinez will answer a resounding “yes” to that prompting when he is ordained a priest of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne. It will be the culmination of a journey that Deacon Martinez credits to the countless prayers of the faithful from across the diocese. “It’s been a really humbling thing to see how many people that we don’t even know have been praying for us this entire time that we’ve been at seminary,” Deacon Martinez told Today’s Catholic. “It just kind of reminds me how the Church is just so big, so full, so alive.” Hearing the Call Born and raised in Fort Wayne, Deacon Martinez grew up just down the street from St. Charles Borromeo Church, where he attended grade school. Though becoming a priest wasn’t “something that I thought about or felt called to from a young age,” Deacon Martinez said his family’s parish involvement helped foster a “subliminal openness to whatever the Lord was calling me to.” It was while attending Snider High School and participating in youth groups at both St. Charles and St. Jude parishes in Fort Wayne that Deacon Martinez first began receiving comments concerning the priesthood. “People would always mention, ‘You should think about being a priest,’ or ‘You would make a good priest,’” Deacon Martinez recalled. “That whole time, there’s always that, ‘Nope, I’m not interested in that. Sorry, guys. Thanks for being interested, but I’m not.’” However, it was while studying nutrition science at Purdue University that Martinez first seriously considered that the Lord’s plan for his life may not include marriage and a typical career — the trajectory he found himself on as he dated throughout college and entered the workforce. “I always joke around that the Lord is very patient, in that I’ve always known what I wanted to do and have always pursued what I thought was in my best interest,” Deacon Martinez said. “Once I finally started asking the Lord what He wanted me to do, it was just beautiful to see how He was already asking me and leading me in this direction – I just wasn’t answering it fully yet.” Finding the Support As Martinez began speaking with the vocations director and applying to the seminary, he waited to reveal anything to his parents until it was certain. That made for an interesting conversation when he finally informed Jesse and Frances Martinez that he was headed to the seminary. “If I remember correctly, I think I was already accepted before I even told my mom and dad,” admitted Deacon Martinez. “So, when I did that, they weren’t exactly what we’d call happy; they were in total shock.” However, after recovering from the initial surprise, his parents acknowledged that they had already known that the priesthood was a possibility for him. To this day, Deacon Martinez appreciates their humble support, knowing his decision changes their lives as well by “taking on a whole new sacrifice for them that they didn’t really get to choose, and that can be pretty hard.” Martinez also received encouragement from a number of priests throughout his journey. Father Tony Steinecker taught Deacon Martinez in eighth grade at St. Charles and helped plant a seed as “one of the first priests that ever invited me to really consider the priesthood.” He also noted his full-circle relationship with Monsignor Tom Shoemaker, who was pastor at St. Jude while he attended youth group and is now pastor at his home parish of St. Charles. Finally, Deacon Martinez expressed gratitude for his good friend, Father Dennis Di Benedetto, a steady voice in his discernment process. “He was so patient and good at listening to my concerns and questions, just kind of helping steer my conscience in a way that really made me more free to say yes to that call to go to the seminary.” Cherishing the Formation While Deacon Martinez said he has thoroughly enjoyed his seven years at Mount St. Mary Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, he understands the transient nature of this phase of his life. “It’s one of the most privileged times you’ll ever have — to be surrounded by other good Catholic guys who are trying to grow in holiness, who are genuinely interested in learning more about the Lord and becoming more like Christ,” Deacon Martinez said. “It’s a surreal environment to live in. … But at the same time, we know that it’s temporary — that it’s a beautiful opportunity, but it’s not actually the vocation that we’re called to.” One of his highlights from seminary has been growing in brotherhood with fellow Deacons Johnathon Hickey, Noah Isch, and Greenan Sullivan, beside whom he will lie prostrate at ordination. Deacon Martinez marveled that the Lord placed him with these young men who, “if we weren’t studying to be priests, I wouldn’t know at all — all of us being from different cities, different churches, different ages, different schools, different walks of life,” Martinez said. “It’s a beautiful testament to the fact that our Church is truly universal and that all people are being called to follow the Lord in a profound way.” As a seminarian, Deacon Martinez has had the opportunity to serve in a handful of parishes: St. Pius X in Granger, St. Anthony de Padua in South Bend, and St. Therese, St. Henry, and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Fort Wayne. “Being at such different parishes over the years kind of reinforced that fact to me — that everyone needs the Lord,” Deacon Martinez said. “We’re all made for relationship with God, and truly, all of us desire to know and love God, and to be known and loved by Him, even if we don’t know and recognize it at first.” Living the Vocation As he prepares for his priestly ordination, Deacon Martinez is relying on a litany of saints from whom he asks to intercede for him every morning. In addition to the patrons of the parishes where he has been assigned, others who have “had their own little mark in helping me” include St. John Vianney, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and most recently, Sts. Francisco and Jacinta Marto, the shepherd children from Fatima. Deacon Martinez looks forward to remaining physically active as a priest, especially with cycling and mountain biking — hobbies that not only help keep him healthy but serve as stress relievers and opportunities for community with his brother priests. However, he is most eagerly awaiting being able to administer the sacraments, especially reconciliation. “Every time I have really grown in my relationship with the Lord and really overcome barriers or gone through significant conversions, it’s been in relation to confession,” Deacon Martinez said. “But at the same time, I see that as beautiful as that is, that means the stakes are kind of high, too. … You just realize that it truly is a work of grace to be able to do well, so seeing just how willing and open our priests are back home to hearing confessions and to doing so often, I realize that that’s going to be a beautiful part of being a priest, but it’s also definitely going to be daunting. So, I just keep praying for the grace to be able to do that well.” “Once I finally started asking the Lord what He wanted me to do, it was just beautiful to see how He was already asking me and leading me in this direction – I just wasn’t answering it fully yet.” About Deacon Samuel Martinez Home parish: St. Charles Borromeo, Fort Wayne Ordained a deacon: May 24, 2025, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne Favorite hobbies: Ice hockey, playing guitar, baking bread, cooking, nutrition Favorite saints: St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Jacinta, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Peregrine, St. Jude, St. Charles Borromeo, St. James the Lesser, and of course the Blessed Virgin Mary Favorite Scripture: John 21 What made you want to be a priest? The realization that with everything God has given me, the best I can do is offer my will back to Him to do with as He wills. First Mass of Thanksgiving Following his ordination, Father Sam Martinez will celebrate his First Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Charles Borromeo Parish at 9 a.m. on Sunday, June 7. A reception will follow in the Hession Center. Father Martinez will also return to participate in the Corpus Christi procession following the 11 a.m. Mass. The post Meet the Ordinandi: Deacon Samuel Martinez appeared first on Today's Catholic. ...read more read less