CRANBERRY TWP — Little did Tom Gramc know his childhood playacting as a priest would become a reality two decades later.

Gramc, 26, of Cranberry Township, a seminarian temporarily assigned to St. Ferdinand Roman Catholic Church, is headed for Rome July 14 for a four-year education process culminating in his ordination.

He is one of a select group of seminarians sent to Rome, which is one of various sites they can go to complete their education.

Following his ordination, Gramc will spend a fifth year in Rome before being given an assignment in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

He is eagerly anticipating his pending tenure in Italy.

“Everything's going to be new to me,” Gramc said.

The Rev. John Gallagher, pastor of St. Ferdinand, said it's a testament to Gramc that he is being sent to Rome.

“They just don't send anybody to go there,” Gallagher said. “He's very bright and very personable. People just love him around here.”

Gallagher said Gramc will earn a doctorate in some field of theology.

In addition to continuing his education, Gramc intends to work with the downtrodden.

“I want to spend time with the poor,” Gramc said.

He pointed out the Italian government doesn't have the same resources as the United States, making the plight of the Italian destitute more desperate.

Gramc also wants to follow in the footsteps of St. Paul, traveling to Corinth in Greece.

He also plans to see St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, which boasts an Egyptian obelisk and a granite fountain.

His indirect path to becoming a seminarian began when he was about 5, pretending to be a priest in the basement of his parent's Shaler home.

He was fascinated by watching the priest at Sunday Mass.

“I remember thinking that's something I want to do,” Gramc said.

As with many childhood dreams, the idea of becoming a priest eventually faded over time.

After graduating from Central Catholic High School in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh and obtaining a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Dayton, he began a career in Cincinnati.

He soon became dissatisfied.

“Sitting in a cubicle is not for me,” Gramc said. “That's when I really started thinking about a vocation.”

Although Gramc felt a calling, he wanted to be sure it was the right path.

Upon relocating to Cranberry, he found a job he enjoyed selling homes.

Gramc decided if he could give up a job he loved and stay celibate, he would answer the calling God seemed to be sending.

Six months later, Gramc took the plunge.

“I said quit being such a wimp and go for it,” he said.

Although Gramc initially considered becoming a Christian Brother, he decided his calling was not to become a school teacher, which is the mission of the Brothers.

So, Gramc came full circle, entering the Pittsburgh Diocese's seminary in January 2012.

His parents, Tom and Kathleen Gramc, who had since moved to Cranberry, supported his decision despite him being their only son.

“I'm the only boy,” he said. “Gramc is not a common name.”

He already has sacrificed some of his worldly possessions.

“I couldn't care less about material objects,” Gramc said. “I recently got rid of my iPhone. That was a distraction in my life.”

He said he has no regrets.

“I'm much happier than I've ever been,” Gramc said. “This is what I want to do.”

Gallagher said Gramc working in the “real world” gives him a different perspective than many other seminarians.

“There's a maturity about him,” Gallagher said.

Gramc took up running while in college. For the last three years, he's entered marathons. He ran in both the Pittsburgh and Boston marathons earlier this year.

Gramc always will carry the memories of what he experienced April 15, when two bombs exploded during the Boston Marathon.

Fortunately, he finished the race in a little over three hours, so he and his parents already were eating at a pub when the explosions went off.

Despite the ghastly conditions, Gramc witnessed, he said people stopped running and celebrating, so they could help those desperately in need.

“It really shows the light through the darkness,” he said.