When the late Pope Francis visited New York City in 2015, a group of students at Elmhurst’s Cathedral Prep Seminary, the only remaining high school seminary in the United States, reflected on the possibility they would one day consider the priesthood.
Patrice Legoute was at the time a 15-year-old junior, who said he dreamed since he was a child of becoming a priest. He was “drawn to the priesthood,” he said.
“I think what God’s calling me to do is help his people, bring Him to his people,” he told an intrepid DNAinfo reporter back then. “Is there really anything else I enjoy more than seeing the priest helping out the people in the church?”
A decade later, he’s now known as “Brother Pat” to the students at St. Sebastian’s Catholic Academy in Woodside, Queens, where he teaches religion. It’s one of his many duties as an acolyte at St. Sebastian’s and Corpus Christi parishes, a final step before he’s fully ordained at some time in the future.
In the days after Francis’ death, Legoute reflected on the humble church leader, and how his own journey aligned with the “People’s Pope,” from when he began in high school.
“He’s set this precedence for me and my own vocation, to really go out there and be that instrumental piece in God’s plan,” he told THE CITY.
Hundreds of thousands of Catholics traveled to Vatican City last month for the funeral of the man born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, celebrating him for his papacy’s focus on the poor, immigrants and most marginalized around the world.
On that Saturday, Legoute’s day included helping with parish duties and assisting at masses split between two churches nearly a mile away from each other.
The combined parishes are common throughout the Diocese of Brooklyn and indicative of a changing church, with both fewer priests to say mass and fewer parishioners in the pews.
For Legoute, he’s been aware of the challenges of the path he feels God is calling him to since he was at Cathedral. As a high school student, he received spiritual guidance from priests which solidified his decision.
Patrice Legoute at Cathedral Preparatory School and Seminary in Queens in 2015. Credit: Katie Honan/DNAinfo
He committed to the seminary for college, studying philosophy, classical studies and Romance languages at St. John’s University alongside his religious studies.
After his degree, he spent more years in seminary studying theology, what he called the switch from understanding “the mind of Christ to the heart of Christ.”
Legoute, who grew up in Queens Village, has spent nearly all of his time training within the Diocese of Brooklyn, which encompasses both boroughs and as such is one of the most diverse ecclesiastical territories in the country.
Masses are held in 33 different languages at some point in the year, and 26 ethnic ministries focus on specific customs and traditions of Catholics around the world.
There are nearly 700 active priests in the diocese, and 50 seminarians hoping to become one, according to 2024 data from the Church.
The diocese has put an emphasis on boosting the number of priests, a focus of the former bishop, Nicholas DiMarzio, and current Bishop Robert Brennan. They launched the Jeremiah Project, a retreat for Catholic men considering the priesthood, 10 years ago.
Legoute called Francis a shepherd of all people, praising him for his ability to speak and connect to all different kinds of people. And he admired his work to try and bring people back into the church.
“A church with crying babies is a church that’s alive,” he said, of his desire to have packed masses again.
Pope Francis visits the 9/11 Memorial in 2015, speaking with Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/DNAinfo
Legoute noted it’s difficult to explain the feeling of being called by God to become a priest.
“I’ve spent years of my formation trying to find the language but it really boils down to the three words of: I love you,” he said.
“God saying ‘I love you’ to me and me being able to receive that love in a capacity that calls me to be of service as a spiritual father. It’s hard to articulate how that feels but you know right away. It really is like love at first sight.”
The process of selecting a new pope, called the Conclave, is scheduled to begin May 7. It’s the largest, and most geographically diverse such gathering, in Catholic Church history, according to The Tablet, the Brooklyn Diocese’s own newspaper.
Among favorite contenders for the next pope are Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, from the Philippines, and Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana.
Legoute said he doesn’t follow the speculation on who might be the next pope.
“The Holy Spirit picks the pope and it’s the job of the cardinals to figure that out,” he said.
“The pope we need for a particular time is the pope we’re gonna get.”
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