Aaron Baulch from St Patrick's, Kerang will become a Sandhurst Seminarian in 2025. It's a journey he can't wait to start.
Aaron is a parishioner at St Patrick’s, Kerang and lives on his family's farm at Lake Charm, where he was born and raised. A former student of St Joseph’s Primary School in Kerang, Aaron has studied Education at La Trobe University. He is looking forward to learning more about our faith and strengthening his relationship with God at Corpus Christi College. “It’s been a long journey, and I can’t wait to get started,” says Aaron.
During his primary school years, Aaron was an altar server at St Patrick’s Church, but it was not until year 12, while a student at the local high school, that he felt called to the priesthood. At the time, his family wasn’t attending Mass regularly and he was not engaged in parish life. Aaron describes the moment he felt drawn back to his faith:
“Our Year 12 Coordinator at school had passed away from a heart attack; it was a real shock. At his funeral, I discovered that he was Christian; I was moved by the Bible Readings and noticed that his family – on the most difficult day of their lives, was at peace in the hope that they would see him again.”
Aaron says the experience got him asking questions. He started looking to the Scriptures for answers and was overwhelmed by their effect. “I was hooked! I realised there was so much more to the Scriptures than what I had learned from primary school bible stories. I was fascinated and I just kept reading more and more.”
After over two years of reading Scripture, Aaron, a student at La Trobe University at the time, attended a Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral. “I wanted to see with my own eyes all the things I had been learning about. At that Mass, I was given a prayer card for Vocations; the prayer had been written by Fr Jackson Saunders who was a seminarian at the time. This piqued my interest. I didn’t go back to Mass, but the prayer card was – there.”
After a few months, Aaron slowly built up the courage to go to Confession and return to Mass. “I was doing this in Bendigo and hadn’t told my family about it. So, when I went home to Kerang in the summer, they were all surprised to hear of my conversion to Christ and learn that I would be going to Mass every Sunday.”
Aaron has served on the Kerang Parish Pastoral Council since August 2022. “It’s been an honour to help my community and I’ve learned a lot about operational aspects of a parish and the life and work of a parish priest,” he says.
In 2023 Aaron travelled with Sandhurst Pilgrims to World Youth Day events in Portugal. “I’d got to a point where I knew that the priesthood was something I wanted to pursue further, to see if that was what God wanted of me. It certainly was what I felt I wanted for me, but I didn’t know what steps to take,” explained Aaron.
Fortunately, to his relief, the Sandhurst WYD Chaplain, Fr Jackson Saunders, initiated conversations about a vocation with Aaron. “I was very grateful, and he has played an important role in helping me in the steps towards my vocation ever since.”
From November 2023, Aaron started attending Vocations Discernment Sessions held by the Diocesan Vocations Director, Fr Nathan Verallo, with the support of Fr Jackson Saunders and Fr Adi Indra. “These sessions provided a great opportunity to hear first-hand about the life of a priest; it was inspiring to simply enjoy conversation over a shared meal.”
Aaron credits the friendships formed at the Vocations Discernment sessions for laying the groundwork for his vocations journey – he knew what steps to take. “I was invited to altar serve at the Chrism Mass this year; it was the first time I had altar served since I was an altar boy in primary school. It was an experience that allowed me to gauge how comfortable I was in such an environment, and I found myself very comfortable, even though I only held the book for Bishop Shane!”
Aaron is looking forward to learning more about God, the Church and the priesthood at the seminary. He is also looking forward to developing friendships with fellow seminarians.
“I’m excited to have the opportunity to be immersed in a well-supported learning environment,” says Aaron. “I want to learn to deepen my prayer life, to grow in virtue and grow closer to God,” says Aaron. “It’s been a long journey and I can’t wait to get started!”
