My name is Deacon-elect Andrew Smith. I am happily going to be serving, once again, at St. Patrick’s this Summer and Fall, albeit in a different role.

I grew up moving between Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. Currently my parents live in Houston, and because of that I decided to go to college in Nacogdoches, so as to be close enough to them. Therefore, I enrolled at Stephen F. Austin in the Fall of 2013. At SFA I was heavily involved in St. Mary’s Catholic Campus Ministry wherein I was part of the Knights of Columbus, was head of liturgical ministries and altar serving, was involved in leading FOCUS Bible Studies, and was part of the Core Team of St. Mary’s. I graduated in 2017 and decided to take the plunge into something that had been on my heart for as long as I could remember. Since my childhood I wanted to be a priest. It was a desire that was constantly on the “back of my heart.” There were certainly ebbs and flows in my wanting to be a priest, but after college I deeply desired to give of myself in this regard, so I gave it a shot. I joined the Diocese of Tyler as a Seminarian. I chose the Diocese of Tyler, as opposed to everywhere else I had lived, because it was in this diocese where my Faith truly took root. I wanted to give back here in this local church what I have been given. Bishop Strickland then sent me to Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was here where I have been in formation for the Priesthood since Fall of 2018. Having just finished my fifth year of Seminary at Notre Dame, with great joy, I have been called to Holy Orders by Bishop Strickland and am very excited to spend the beginnings of my Ordained Ministry as a Deacon in Lufkin at St. Patrick’s from June through mid-October. I look forward to re-joining all of you around the Altar of the Lord very soon. Please keep me in your prayers as I continue preparing for Ordination to the Order of Deacon on May 27 and know that you all are in my prayers.