“I don’t know if I was really satisfied with my life,” he said. “My first job out of university I was making a lot of money like a lot of money, for a new grad, but just having a ton of money doesn’t really make you happy.”

So Janulewicz, a devout Catholic from a religious family, began a search for fulfilment and found a path that eventually led to his ordination. On June 10 Janulewicz became an Oblate priest during a ceremony at St. Eugene de Mazenod Church in Brampton, Ont.

“I just want to be there for the people,” he said. “As a priest sometimes it’s hard to be selfless, it’s hard to be always available and I just want to work on those qualities so that I can really make the most of what God’s given to me.”

Janulewicz, 32, began his journey towards religious life about seven years ago.

“When I began my discernment my first idea was to be a religious,” he said. “I had read the lives of some saints who were religious and they were very much an inspiration to me. It was these stories that sort of got me thinking about the possibility of living in a closer relationship with God.”

After considerable reading, Janulewicz spoke with his pastor at St. Hynacinth Roman Catholic Church in Ottawa.

“That was in 2005 or 2006 ... and very quickly he said why don’t you join our formation program,” said Janulewicz. “That face-to-face encounter really made it easy for me. I was kind of first-come first- server.”

After studying in Buffalo for a year, Janulewicz, who’d previously never lived away from the family home, moved to Texas to attend the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio. His next stop was Mississauga, Ont. to serve as deacon at Saint Maximilian Kolbe Parish.

“I know some guys have great visions of what they want to accomplish,” he said.

“I just want to start small. It’s going to be such a new reality for me that I want to just get a hold of the basics.”