 Br.
Boniface Willard, OP
I was born in Boise, Idaho, in 1977 and raised in a small town just north of
there. Although my family spent a great deal of time enjoying the beauties
of God found in the Idaho Rockies, we were regular in our religious
observance. My sister and I attended religious education classes, and I
served as an altar boy from the third grade until after college. It is, I
think, through serving Mass and the example of several dedicated and holy
priests that I first felt the stirrings of a desire to become a priest, but
it was experienced as a sort of restlessness that quietly persisted through
the years.
During
high school, my faith was challenged, both by the departure of family and
friends from the Church and by members of other religious denominations,
particularly the Mormons, who are the dominant religious group in southern
Idaho. Although I was able to answer their questions and objections to some
degree, I was often left feeling dissatisfied with my own answers. After a
time, I realized that I had to go somewhere and learn about my faith, or I
had to become an atheist. These were the only two options because if the
faith I was raised with was not true, then nothing else seemed to be any
better. Not having the strength to be an atheist, I decided to study the
teachings and history of the Church. It was, if you will, faith seeking
understanding.
I attended Christendom
College in Front Royal, Virginia, and graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor of
Arts in theology. Attending Christendom College was a tremendous
experience. I found the academic life stimulating and challenging, but it
was the experience of the college community – which I think is best
described as a sort of lay religious community – that once more brought to
life the desire to be a priest; now, though, I began to think about life as
a priest in a religious order. However, I graduated with no clear idea of
what it was that I sought.
After spending a year
teaching high school in Richmond, I decided, on the advice of a friend, to
study for my Master of Arts degree at the Dominican House of Studies in
Washington, DC. As he said, I could work toward a higher degree while at
the same time learn something about the Dominicans, whom he felt I would
like. And he was right.
I fell in love with the
Order. The academic, prayer and community life of the friars resonated
deeply in my soul, and a very strong desire to join them grew in me. I
thought often about St. Matthew’s rich young man, and I finally decided to
apply to the Western Dominican Province, and entered the
Novitiate in August of 2003. I made my first profession in September
of 2004, and I am currently working on my thesis for a Master of Arts degree
in theology for DHS as well as studying for the Master of Divinity degree at
the DSPT.
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