Our parish gratefully welcomes Sam Horan, 24, seventh-year seminarian at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis. Recently re-assigned to Our Lady of Guadalupe for his “pastoral internship,” Sam was with us also in 2020 following a very intensive year in the seminary. Sam served our parish while living at the rectory that summer along with another seminarian, now Fr. Garrett King, as well as Fathers Christian and Gabe, and Sam recalls it being a very good personal experience of learning and growth.
The younger of two children, Sam’s mother is Lori Volz Horan, who grew up at the Cathedral of St. Joseph, the daughter of Teresa Nell and Francis Volz. His father, Terry Horan, was a member of St. Catherine Parish in KCMO. Sam was raised at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in KC (“a bubble of amazingness!”), serving under the spiritual tutelage and of his beloved pastor, the late Msgr. Bill Blacet (also a St. Joseph native).
One of Sam’s interests is the ancient form of sung praise called Gregorian Chant. “I didn’t even know I could sing,” he said, “until I joined the Propers Group at St. Greg’s.” There he learned how to sing Gregorian Chant and discovered his love for it.
Seminarian Sam earned his BA in Philosophy at St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, Nebraska, followed by two years of theology at Kenrick. Sam will be with us until the summer of 2022 when he will return to Kenrick for his final two years of theology. He plans are to be ordained a transitional deacon in 2023 and as a priest in 2024. We all appreciate Sam’s devotion to our parish and offer our gratitude and prayers for him in the coming year.