Local Catholic headed to Mount Angel seminary

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HOLLADAY — Landon Quintana, a cradle Catholic who was born in the Salt Lake Valley and graduated from Kearns St. Ann School and Juan Diego Catholic High School, has been accepted as a seminarian for the Diocese of Salt Lake City. He is a parishioner of Saint Vincent de Paul and has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Utah.

Since graduating from college he has worked in the family business, East Coast Subs, but has felt the call to priesthood since he was young, he said. 

“I was 7 years old when I first felt the call to the priesthood,” he said, recalling the moment.

His appendix ruptured on a Friday, but “My parents thought that my symptoms were from the flu,” he said. “It wasn’t until Saturday night that my pain was so unbearable that they saw it was something more.” 

When he woke up in the hospital waiting room, his parents had called for a priest to administer the Anointing of the Sick.

“It was that moment, with the light from the room, Monsignor [Robert] Servatius anointing me, and my family watching with a fearful calm, that I believe God called me to the priesthood,” he said.

Msgr. Servatius, a diocesan priest for 52 years, died in 2017. 

Quintana recalls this episode is his life as “a gift from the Holy Spirit in my darkest hour, and one which preceded Reconciliation and the Eucharist in my life. Death came before life for me.”

His recovery took months, and because of his frail condition he was isolated at school, he said. He began reading about the history of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, and “recognized my calling in yet another profound way,” he said.

With the constant support of his family, he became first an altar server, then a lector and an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.  

“My mom, dad and brother have always recognized my want of closeness to God and have always encouraged my ways of striving to do so,” Quintana said. “My family has always provided a supportive, loving and prayerful place in which I can always seek refuge and comfort. They have known that I have been called to the priesthood since the age of 7, and they have waited patiently as my journey has unfolded over these many years.” 

Now that he has been accepted as a diocesan seminarian, “I am not excited, nervous, scared, elated or otherwise emotional,” he said. “I have found that my emotions have played out throughout my journey, and when the time came for me to finally say yes and actively pursue the priesthood, a peace fell over me and I am fully content in a way that I have never been before.”

Entering the seminary has been on his mind for decades and is “something that I have prayed and thought about rigorously and openly,” he said. “I am at peace with myself and with God’s calling. I look forward to what he has planned for me with an open, humble heart.”

At Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon he will join many of the other diocesan seminarians. 

“Mt. Angel is a place that is storied with great faith and holy men,” he said. “A lot of our priests from our diocese have gone before me to this special place and if I can accomplish half of what they have, I will be content. It is an honor and a privilege to enter such a holy place to discern and go through formation. … I want to grow closer to God and fully realize my potential as his humble servant.”

To those who may be considering a religious vocation, he gives the advice of Pope Leo XIV: “Do not be afraid! Accept the invitation of the Church and of Christ the Lord!”

“My journey to the seminary has been a long one,” Quintana said. “I have found that my calling has stayed with me throughout. I would say to men who are discerning the priesthood but are waiting or otherwise hesitant, pray and trust in your calling. God knows what he wants, and he is the most patient.” 

Quintana will enter Mount Angel Seminary in July in the propaedeutic (initial) stage of formation; typically, seminarians study for nine years before priestly ordination. 

St. Vincent de Paul Parish is hosting a send-off for Quintana on Sunday, June 29 at the Holy Family Hall following the 9 and 11:30 a.m. Masses. All donations will be given to Quintana as he begins his studies at the seminary.