When he was 7 years old, Nickolas Naticchione started saying he wanted to become a priest, “you know, the way some kids say they want to be an astronaut,” said Naticchione, who is now in his third year at The College Seminary of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Andrew’s Hall, Seton Hall University in South Orange.
“My uncle, Father Jim Worth, was my initial inspiration. I wanted to be like Uncle Jim,” he said.
Naticchione graduated from Our Lady Star of the Sea Regional School in Atlantic City and Holy Spirit High School in Absecon. Although he says he became less vocal in high school about his future plans for the priesthood, his intention only grew stronger. He doesn’t think any of his classmates were surprised when he entered the seminary.
“My nickname in high school was Monsignor,” said Naticchione, who was also president of Holy Spirit’s Liturgy Club. In that role, he worked closely with the Director of Catholic Identity at the school, who placed a heavy emphasis on ministry.
Although the seeds for priesthood were planted early by his Uncle Jim, Naticchione said Catholic school gave him a place to take his vocation seriously and to get fellow students interested as well.
“It was an experience I never would have had without the benefit of Catholic school,” he said, adding that it would be harder for someone to stand up and proclaim their faith in a non-Catholic school setting.
“In Catholic school, that is the goal. That’s why we have Directors of Catholic Identity. Whatever [a person’s] vocation is — marriage, the priesthood — we need that formation,” he said.
A year ahead of Naticchione, Timothy Mulranen’s path is similar. A Catholic school “lifer,” he began his education in Pre-K at Saint Margaret Regional School in Woodbury Heights. From Saint Margaret he went to Paul VI High School in Haddonfield, where he graduated in 2017.
Like Naticchione, Mulranen felt the call to the priesthood from a young age and was influenced by an uncle who is a priest in Philadelphia.
“I always knew. I always had a desire to be a priest. I used to play Mass in our basement,” said Mulranen. “I imitated it as a kid because I’ve always loved the Mass.”
As he moved from play Mass to “real” Mass, Mulranen became an altar server at his parish, Church of the Incarnation in Mantua. There, in fourth grade, he was inspired by the new, young associate pastor, Father Michael Romano.
At Paul VI, Mulranen was active in the school’s Liturgical Committee, where then-chaplain Father John Rossi was his spiritual director and a strong influence on his vocation.
Although he knew he would end up in the priesthood, Mulranen decided to go the traditional route for college and enrolled at Neumann University, where he majored in communications and digital media. But the call was too strong, and after a year, Mulranen knew he did not want to delay his path to the priesthood. He transferred to the College Seminary at Seton Hall, where he is now a fourth year student.
As luck would have it, Father Romano became Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Camden. While Mulranen says Father Romano was his most influential mentor through the discernment process, he also acknowledges the role of his Catholic school education.
“Catholic schools kept my vocation alive,” said Mulranen, beginning with his strong attachment to the Franciscan Missionaries of the Infant Jesus (FMIJ) Sisters at Saint Margaret.
He said he was vocal about his desire to become a priest in high school and comfortable sharing his plan with Paul VI friends.
“All my friends were supportive. I was able to be myself in Catholic school, not just in religion class,” he said. “You could see Christ in every subject. It’s a living out of your faith. You can’t really put a price on that.”
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