ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — In a period where the U.S. Catholic Church is experiencing a notable decline in the number of priests, the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, recently celebrated the ordination of 12 new priests. This event marked its second-largest group of ordinands during a joyous Mass held at its cathedral.

Prior to the ceremony, The Associated Press engaged with the men, who shared the motivations behind their commitments to celibacy, obedience, and their religious path.

Here are four of their stories.

A rare kind of leader

As a teenager active in youth ministry, the Rev. Ricky Malebranche was often encouraged by adults to consider the priesthood.

He assumed it was just what Catholics told religious, young men.

After completing college, he seriously pondered attending seminary. However, it took nine years before he felt God’s calling: “I want you to be my priest.”

By then, he had built a career as a high school counselor and coach. He owned a home and hoped to one day marry and have children. “Oh no, you missed your chance, Jesus,” he thought.

After he finally decided to apply to seminary, he felt a profound sense of peace. He later enrolled at Mount St. Mary’s, a Catholic institution in western Maryland where the diocese sends some of its seminarians.

The son of Haitian immigrants, Malebranche now joins a small group of Black American priests. Though rich in tradition, Black Catholics make up 5% of the U.S. church, and account for less than 1% of U.S. priests.

“I am very cognizant of it every time I do anything in ministry, that I represent a larger group than just me,” Malebranche said.

“I have this desire to not let them down,” he said. “I want to be able to bring pride to a people who don’t always see themselves represented.”

A military chaplain

Before he ever considered ordination, the Rev. Mike Sampson, without conscious thought, made the sign of the cross — a decidedly Catholic ritual.

“I looked up and laughed,” he recalled.

Though raised Protestant, he took the moment as a prompt from God to explore Catholicism.

The California native practiced law while volunteering at his local parish in Arlington, Virginia. Six years after his conversion, he enrolled in seminary to become a priest.

“Very proud,” is how his mother, Diane Sampson, described feeling after her son’s recent ordination. His call to the priesthood was initially difficult for the Protestant family.

“One of the things that I think even most Catholics are challenged by is the idea of celibacy and not getting married and not having kids and the family name not carrying on,” the Rev. Sampson said.

In three years, he will begin a five-year stint as a military chaplain with the U.S. Navy. Fellow seminarians describe Sampson as a mentor. They say he is well-suited to the discipline of military life, despite not serving in the armed forces before seminary, when he was commissioned as a lieutenant.

For now, he will serve at a parish close to the office complex where he once worked, and where he occasionally went to noon Mass. He is “coming back,” he said, “but in a very different way.”

A Peruvian connection

Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pontiff, spent decades in Peru. In his first public appearance as pope, he addressed his former diocese in Spanish.

“I frankly couldn’t believe it,” said the Rev. Alfredo Tuesta. “He greeted us in our language. It was just beautiful.”

Born in Lima, Peru, Tuesta immigrated to the U.S. at age 10. His family settled in Paterson, New Jersey, a hub for the Peruvian diaspora. He attended Don Bosco, a nearby Catholic prep school.

He was drawn to the priesthood from an early age, but as the firstborn son of immigrants, he felt he should support his family instead.

“Financially, we come from a very modest and humble background,” he said. “And so, you want to make it. You want to provide.”

It was only after he earned a doctorate in mechanical engineering and was living in northern Virginia that he rediscovered his calling.

By then, both of his parents had died. He has since heard from his mother’s friends that she thought he might become a priest.

His ordination drew loved ones from all over the world to celebrate. The self-described introvert was hesitant to be the center of attention.

“We’re not really there to celebrate me and my priesthood because it really isn’t mine,” he said, noting it’s shared among his brother priests and community. “What we’re really celebrating is everyone there — everyone who contributed to my discernment, to my vocation, to my faith, to my upbringing.”

An adventurous life

The Rev. Tim Banach is a thrill-seeker who enjoys the outdoors. With other seminarians and priests, he has hiked many mountain ranges and camped in the Badlands.

The priestly life strikes him as an adventure too, where no day is the same.

From weddings to funerals, priests serve thousands of people on their best and worst days. “There are just these moments you get to share that can be overwhelming,” he said. “But we’re very privileged as well.”

A native of Corning, New York, Banach first considered the priesthood while an engineering student at the University of Virginia.

After graduation, he lived “a pretty normal life,” he said, working at a consulting job and going on some dates. “But that question never really went away.”

The diocese eventually sent him to St. Charles Borromeo, a seminary near Philadelphia. He graduated in May.

“When I joined the seminary and met the kind of men that I could be serving alongside for the rest of my life, I was even more encouraged,” he said. “Because they’re exactly the type of guys that I want to be my brothers.”

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.