Reprinted with permission from The Catholic Mirror.
Despite experiencing doubt as a young adult, Father Christopher Pisut knew from a pretty early age that he was meant to be a priest.
Father Pisut was born in Des Moines and is originally from St. Anthony Parish. Currently, he serves as pastor for three parishes in the southeast corner of the diocese: Sacred Heart in Chariton, St. Francis in Corydon and St. Brendan in Leon.
The middle child of three, he grew up in a healthy conventional Catholic family that attended Mass on Sunday and prayed in the home.
"There was an innate sense that this was important," Father Pisut said. "My parents recognized the value of service to the Church and of getting a Catholic education."
He attended St. Anthony School and Dowling Catholic High School before going to Iowa State University.
The call to the priesthood for him though came on its own, not necessarily through anything instilled early on by anyone or anything in particular that he can recall.
It was pretty concrete for him by eighth grade.
"I just remember seeing a priest and going, 'That's it,'" he said.
He saw something special happening with the Mass, Father Pisut said.
"I was always focused on the priest and drawn to the Mass," he said. "I was drawn to it from a very young age."
The call to the priesthood for Father Pisut shifted to the back burner, and while in college, he drifted in his faith.
Though he even questioned God's existence, the love for the Mass was still there for him.
"I felt a loss about going to church, even though I questioned God," said Father Pisut.
"The reason I came back is because I love the Church," he said. I always had."
Even during the time he had questioned, he read about the Church and defended it to people, he said.
Father Pisut worked odd jobs and pondered graduate school before making the decision to enter the seminary. He was engaged to be married while studying Church history in Washington, D.C.
"Finally I had to stop sitting on the fence, " he said.
Father Pisut entered formation for the priesthood in 1999, and he was ordained by Bishop Joseph Charron, C.PP.S in 2003.
His first assignment was a parochial vicar at St. Francis of Assisi in West Des Moines.
In 2006, Father Pisut was sent to Catholic University in Washington D. C. to study Canon law.
In addition to becoming pastor for Chariton, Corydon and Leon parishes, he is judicial vicar for the diocese.
After seven years, he's served in suburban and rural areas in addition to the diocesan Tribunal.
"I am very happy," Father Pisut said.
His favorite part of being a priest is celebrating Mass.
"As the Church teaches, it the source and summit of Christian life," said Father Pisut. "Everything's informed by that, and everything flows from that."
He recommends that anyone who's experienced a call to the priesthood to simply pursue it with an honest, open mind.
Entering seminary doesn't mean you're going to be a priest, he said.
"If God wants you to do it, he's going to get you anyway," Father Pisut said.
His second recommendation is to pursue the priesthood faithfully.
"If you're called to be a priest, you're called to do it faithfully," said Father Pisut.
For information on diocesan vocations, visit www.vocationsonline.com
