Father Gerald Andrews studied aerospace engineering in college and then entered the seminary after discerning that he had a higher calling, to help lead people to heaven as a priest. On June 18, 2022, he was among 10 men ordained as new priests of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington by Cardinal Wilton Gregory at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
Father Andrews, 26, a native of Walnut Creek, California, grew up in the Diocese of Wilmington as a member of Good Shepherd Parish in Perryville, Md., the third oldest of seven children of John and Susan Andrews.
“My family raised my siblings and me in the faith, faithfully attending Sunday Mass and praying the rosary,” he said. “I came to love my faith and to desire to grow in it when I was part of a group of Catholic boys during middle school, where many priests, religious brothers, and other young men showed me the great value of friendship with Christ and the life of virtue.”
While he was completing his high school curriculum in homeschooling, he studied aerospace engineering at a community college and was an intern at the Army Research Lab. While a student at the University of Maryland, he worked in a research lab and helped develop a new design for a micro-scale rotorcraft drone.
From a young age, he had thought that he might be called to be a priest, but he worried that he might not be happy without a family of his own.
Writing about his vocation on the DC Priest website, Father Andrews noted, “While at the University of Maryland, I grew in my life of prayer, and formed many good friendships with people at the Catholic Student Center. I began to see how I could be fulfilled by my relationship with God, and love others in a life of celibacy. The final event that led me to enter seminary was visiting Saint John Paul II Seminary, and seeing the joy of the men there.”
Father Andrews said that attending Mass and praying at Eucharistic Adoration at the University of Maryland prepared him to receive and embrace the call to priesthood, and after entering Saint John Paul II Seminary, he later studied at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg.
In his high school years, he acted in several of Shakespeare’s plays with his homeschool acting group. He enjoys rock climbing and other outdoor activities, and he recently began playing the Irish tin whistle.
After his ordination, Father Gerald Andrews celebrated his first Mass at St. Andrew Apostle Church in Silver Spring on Sunday June 19.
