Name: Father John Donato, CSC

Position: Associate Director of Faith Development
Location: University of Portland, Oregon
Date of Birth: 1964

Father John Donato admired his father, whose work as a banker required that he manage both people and technology. As a priest, Father Donato applies the management skills he admired in his father to his work as a parish priest, a business consultant for pastors, and to his campus ministry endeavors.

Here is his story . . .

I had always wanted to be a banker like my father. As a manager of both people and technology, he was the first to computerize the bank's checking and savings accounts. What a perfect personal icon of the late twentieth century for me.

And yet as early as I can remember I recognized an attraction to the priesthood. Maybe it was my vibrant pastor who caught my attention or maybe it was that simple joy in my heart when I served mass? I may never know the "how's" and "why's" of this peculiar gift of God in my life. But, I have discovered along my own road to Emmaus that the shadow of the cross will not extinguish the bright fire of Easter faith.

Parish Ministry: Shepherding the Flock
For nine of my 11 years in active ministry, I have been immersed in my first love: parish ministry. In the place we call parish, the crucified and risen Lord lives, week in and week out. The rhythm of daily mass and the liturgical seasons keep the little flock attentive for the Master's voice, shepherding us from death into life. It's not hard to live the gospel there.

Business Consultant: Managing the Church's Business
Always a student at heart, I completed a non-profit business degree at the University of Notre Dame. Soon afterward, I left for Florida to serve as an auxiliary priest and start an internship as a business and computer consultant for area pastors. One day it occurred to me that I was doing what my father did, but for parishes instead of banks. Those two years proved to be extraordinarily rich pastorally and professionally, but a new adventure in campus ministry awaited me.

Campus Ministry: Guiding the Hearts and Minds of Future Leaders
Now I spend most of my time with college students at the University of Portland, built on a bluff overlooking the Willamette River north of downtown Portland, Oregon. Many young men and women here hunger for guidance in their spiritual journey. Their questions are simple and refreshing: "How can I serve?" "Will this make a difference?" "Am I called to ministry?" I do much of what I did in the parishes, now attuned more to the academic year than the liturgical one.

Many people think our lives are difficult, trying to fathom a vowed life of poverty, chastity, and obedience. But our lives are quite easy, blessed by those yearning for a glimpse of the Light of Christ in their lives. This Light, offered in the university setting, seems far more dangerous to the networks of privilege than even a fiery, Sunday sermon in a parish pulpit. Who knows what will happen when the searching minds and hearts of our future leaders find words of hope and ready themselves for lives of service!

Where I will be and what I will be doing in the future remains in the hands of Providence. For now, anchored by hope, these first steps into university life and campus ministry on the bluff have made a nice fit for me. How fortunate I am to be surrounded by the learned and the beginners, all with faith-filled lives of their own. And how fitting that at the University of Portland, the hallmarks of "teaching, faith and serve" are proudly displayed on banners all over campus. Here, possibilities abound.

I am not a banker, but that simple joy is still there. Like the young Jesus said when he was found studying the Law in the Temple, I find myself "busy about my Father's business."

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