James Kimmel’s vocation to the priesthood took root at his home in Pennsylvania and in college at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., although he had been in the work force for several years before he finally answered the call.
Kimmel will take the next step in the process of becoming a priest of the Diocese of Wilmington on May 9 when he is ordained a transitional deacon. It will take place at his adopted Delaware spiritual home, Holy Cross Church in Dover, which he attended while working in the capital city.
Kimmel, 37, attended Mass with his parents at Most Blessed Sacrament Church in Bally, Pa., near their home in Barto, in Berks County. The family, which includes four brothers and sisters, prayed the rosary frequently, but Kimmel felt something was wrong with him “because it just seemed like everybody else was on board with this thing, and I was kind of like, ‘What is going on?’”
His parents also were involved in the Catholic charismatic renewal movement, but their son said there was nothing about the movement that makes it obvious how God acts in our everyday lives. For him, it wasn’t “meaty” enough.
At Catholic University, however, he found a group of people who talked about their love for God and their relationship with the Lord in an intellectual way, “and that helped me dive back into the faith. Because we have a lot of really good theology,” he said recently from Baltimore, where he is in formation at St. Mary’s Seminary.
That group of friends wasn’t the only experience from college that played a role in his faith development and his future plans.
“I kind of had a really powerful experience in 2010 when I was on retreat at Catholic University. I kind of felt I was being called to be a priest for other people,” he said.
Kimmel said he talked himself out of his vocation for a long time. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering, Kimmel moved to Dover, where he worked for a gas company. He was there for six years before entering seminary for the diocese.
Kimmel has been in formation for nearly six years now. He said he sees the value in the long period of study required to become a priest. The philosophy and theology courses were very helpful, and he learned a lot about how the Catholic Church works.
“When I started to get a handle on that and was trusting in the Lord a little more, it became like a motivating force,” he said. “The seminary’s been a great instrument in helping me get closer to Christ and become the priest he wants me to be.”
He said he was “all in” when he applied to join the seminary. He had felt for years that he was being called to a deeper relationship with God.
“When I finally made the decision to enter the seminary, it became more obvious that this is where the Lord wanted me to be. Since I entered the seminary, I’ve never felt that there’s anything that someone’s told me that I wouldn’t be willing to do,” Kimmel said.
His family, which includes his father and four siblings, their spouses and 13 nieces and nephews, all have been supportive throughout the process. His mother died in 2011, but Kimmel feels her support as well.
“My dad was actually super on-board with it. He mentioned to me a couple of times that my mom wondered if I had a vocation as well while she was still living,” he said.
His family is his biggest support system. Spending time with them is one of his off-day activities.
He said administering the sacraments is the part of being a priest he is most anticipating.
“I guess it’s cliché, and people think it’s the only thing that priests do, but being in seminary and even beforehand, the sacraments are the reason you show up to a church,” he said.
Attending church on Sunday has a way of generating more involvement with the faith, he continued.
“Being around people who love going to Mass on Sundays, so they go to daily Mass. They love daily Mass, so they go to adoration. They love adoration, so they pray the rosary.
They love praying the rosary, so they go and do charitable works. It’s motivating to me to see people take what they receive on Sunday and actually going out and doing something with it. Being involved with that process is awesome.”
Kimmel spent the 2024-25 year at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in north Wilmington — where he used his engineering background to help a group of seventh-graders transform a traditional bicycle into an electric one. He will soon find out his assignment for this summer. After that, it’s back to St. Mary’s for his final year, and he will be assigned to a local parish to help out.
A year from now, he’ll be the latest priest for the Diocese of Wilmington.
