The son of a former Butler resident is choosing a career that few of his peers would consider.

Tyler Bandura, 26, the only child of Larry and Cindy Bandura of Manorville, is being ordained as a Roman Catholic priest June 1.

“I am totally honored to have a son willing to devote his life to priestly duties,” said Larry Bandura. “You have to give up a lot to be a priest.”

Tyler Bandura thought he had a calling for the priesthood even before he graduated from Ford City High School in 2005.

“I first thought about it while I was in seventh grade, and throughout high school I continued to think about,” he said.

“I really know that is what God wanted me to do, but I struggled with it because there were things I wanted to do. I had my plans of what I wanted to do with my life, but God also had his and they were not the same,” said Bandura.

“Entering my senior year in high school I decided I’ve got to give this a try. It may not be what I am supposed to do, but I have at least got to give this a try,” he said.

“I guess you know, God is tugging on your heart,” said Bandura. “You have that pull, that desire much like when someone falls in love with someone and know that is the person you want to marry.”

Bandura decided to apply to a seminary during his senior year in high school.

He graduated from both St. Mark’s Seminary and Gannon College in Erie in 2009, where he studied philosophy and earned a bachelor’s degree in social work.

Then he attended St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, where he graduated this month with a master’s degree in theology.

“He doesn’t come home very often,” said Larry Bandura. “I think this year we have seen him four times.”

“I think studying Latin was a challenge. Theology is fun because you know you are going to use it in all your work in the future, but Latin was definitely a challenge. It’s not used a prominently in our tradition as it was in the past,” Tyler Bandura said.

“A lot of people when they learn I’ve been in a seminary eight years think that’s a long time,” said Bandura. “But it’s very important training to be a priest. It’s eight years that I wouldn’t trade for anything. When I am a priest and I think of the training, what a blessing it will be.”

Bandura said his ordination will be at 10 a.m. June 1 at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Greensburg presided over by Bishop Lawrence Brandt.

He will celebrate his first Mass of thanksgiving as a priest at 3 p.m. June 2 at Christ Prince of Peace Church, 718 Fourth Ave., Ford City, his home parish.

He said that’s where he was baptized, confirmed and where he served as an altar boy beginning in second grade.

“There will be 25 to 30 priests celebrating with him,” said Christ Prince of Peace pastor Summers. “These are priests he has known. They are coming from all over the place. That’s why the Mass is at 3 p.m. All the priests have Masses in the morning.”

“Then I will be assigned to a parish as an assistant somewhere in the Diocese of Greensburg,” Bandura said.

Bandura said he thinks more men will choose to enter the priesthood in the future.

“There is a shortage of priests,” Bandura said. “But within the last five to seven years there has been a gradual increase. Some seminaries are full. It is definitely picking up.”

He said it was because the church is doing more to promote vocations, including prayers after a Mass.

Noting that two other priests will be ordained with him, Bandura said, “It helps to have young guys going into the priesthood, entering the seminary and being ordained as a priest. It is encouraging to young men considering the priesthood but reluctant about making that first step.”

He’s already had a part in increasing the number of Catholics in the area.

“My wife just became a Catholic a month ago, along with my mother-in-law,” said Larry Bandura. “They thought about it a long time. They feel they can participate more in the church than if they remained Catholic, I’m assuming.”