What is your full name?
Fr. Kevin Joseph Roelant

What is your current Assignment/Parish?
I am currently Pastor of St. Gabriel Parish in Detroit and serve the Family of Parishes here. Starting July 1, I will be the Pastor of St. Thecla Parish in Clinton Township and will also serve the Family of Parishes there.

What is the greatest gift about being a priest?
It is being a minister of God’s grace, salvation, and new life in the sacraments.

What would you say to a young man discerning the priesthood?
God desires our yes, our surrender. He calls us to a life of holiness and a life in him. Spend much time in prayer and silence, listening to Jesus. He will guide you and give you peace. God wants to give us joy and life. If priesthood is your calling, God will you give happiness and joy.

How can people at your parish best support you?
Pray for me! Pray that I become the man and priest of faith and holiness I am called to be. Offer your Divine Mercy Chaplet, your Rosary, your prayers of intercession, and offer a Mass. Pray in whatever way the Holy Spirit leads you for your priest.

How do you see the Holy Spirit working in the Archdiocese of Detroit?
I believe when we prayed as a local church for the Holy Spirit for Synod 16, the Holy Spirit came in a powerful way and is continuing to come and work. I believe the Holy Spirit is purifying and renewing our local Church.

Describe the first moment you knew God was calling you to the priesthood.
About the time I was a senior in high school, I had a profound encounter with Jesus at a Steubenville Youth Conference. A few months back, I really started to pray more and take my faith life more seriously. In my prayer, God put a desire to live for him alone and a love for the priesthood. He put a love to spread the Gospel and for the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. God put a desire to be a priest and his minister, and there was a joy, peace, and happiness there.

What should all young people know about discerning a vocation?
As mentioned earlier, God desires our yes, our surrender. We are called to a life of faith and holiness. That is our vocation. God wants to fill us with his peace, his joy, and his happiness. Whatever vocation or state in life God calls us to, whether that is to the single life, married life, religious life, or priesthood, we will use the gifts and talents he has given us to serve, and we will be joyful and happy.