Fr. Levi James (right) stands with parents David and Ann at the start of the Rite of Ordination of Priests on June 7 at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Belleville. Fr. Levi, the lone priest ordained in the Diocese of Belleville, spent the last year as a transitional deacon. Most Rev. Mark S. Rivituso, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, was the principal celebrant and homilist (David Wilhelm photo).

Like many endeavors in life, the road to becoming a priest wasn’t always a smooth one for Levi James.

There were moments of doubt. Long periods of prayer. Discernment. Discussion. More discernment.

But when June 7 arrived, James couldn’t have been more prepared.His year as a transitional deacon was complete. Priesthood was the next step, and a capacity crowd was in the pews of the Cathedral of St. Peter in Belleville to witness the Rite of Ordination.

“I felt very steady,” said Fr. Levi, 28, a native of Mount Carmel. “I woke up that morning and had a great breakfast. I prayed a little bit beforehand. I was where I was supposed to be, and I knew it. I came in with a lot of peace, a lot of confidence. I realized, ‘This is going to be a very enjoyable Mass,’ and by the end of it, I was going to be what God has asked me to become.

“I’m so excited.”

The principal celebrant and homilist was Most Rev. Mark Rivituso, the auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Rivituso stepped in for former Diocese of Belleville Bishop Michael McGovern, who on May 7 was installed as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Omaha, Neb.

Sitting across the altar from Rivituso during the auxiliary bishop’s 20-minute homily, Fr. Levi — the only priest ordained this year — said his words were poignant. They became even more meaningful upon reflection.

“Bishop Rivituso was excellent,” Fr. Levi said. “Someone told me it was like listening in on a conversation. He looked directly at me and spoke to me the whole time. I’ve been amazed how many times little pieces of that homily have come back. I’ll be at prayer or just doing whatever and a line from the homily will come back to me.”

Fr. Levi was acquainted with Rivituso from past services in which both participated. But for the majority of Fr. Levi’s journey toward becoming a priest, it appeared former Bishop McGovern would be the celebrant and homilist. McGovern, of course, had been thinking the same thing until he was called to Omaha.

“A couple of days after I realized Bishop McGovern was not going to be the bishop ordaining me, I was on the phone with the Poor Clares,” Fr. Levi said. “The sister I was talking to had the strangest reaction. I mentioned that (McGovern) wasn’t going to be able to come back and ordain me. She said, ‘Oh, good!’

“It took my breath away at first. I was like, ‘What?’ And she said, ‘Now you’re going to understand that it’s Jesus who ordains you.’ I kept that very close and took that into the ordination. It wasn’t the bishop who had accepted me to the Seminary. It wasn’t the bishop who had guided me through Seminary and has been so gracious to me. But it was Jesus. That was helpful for me.

“We have to have the symbol; we have to have the person there. But you need them both. (The bishop’s) actions without Jesus are nothing.”

The overall service, Fr. Levi said, “was very uplifting,” with music he called “spectacular.”

“A lot of it was a blur for me, but the parts that really stick out in my memory as a time I was at peace, a time when I was reflecting, was during the homily, the laying on of hands by my brother priests and the first time I consecrated the Eucharist. Those were moments of clarity, peace and joy.”

Among those in attendance were Fr. Levi’s parents, David and Ann. Other family members were also present, sitting alongside David and Ann in the front row. Fr. Levi’s maternal grandfather, Donald Kieffer, who attended the diaconate Mass on June 1, 2024, died March 23 at the age of 83.

“He would have loved to have been there,” Fr. Levi said. “Every one of his (three) brothers, all in a row, came up together (during Communion). That was the part that almost made me cry.” One of Donald Kieffer’s two sisters also attended the Mass.

Fr. Levi, a parishioner at St. Mary in Mount Carmel, sat with his parents in the opening minutes of the Mass before being summoned to the altar. Saying good-bye to them was “one of the really beautiful moments for me,” Fr. Levi said.

“I got to go back and sit with them for the Liturgy of the Word, and I sat beside my mother,” he said. “We did this last year, so we knew they were about to call me forward. She and I had a really brief exchange. I don’t remember what we said, but I could tell in the moment that we were both ready for this. That meant the world to me. We knew what was about to happen, and we were both completely ready for it.”

David and Ann James have attended St. Mary for 40 years. David was a picture of composure during the Mass. Internally, it was a different story as he watched his son being ordained.

“To see the joy in his face and the joy in everybody’s faces that were there participating in the Mass was overwhelming,” David said. “It was a humbling experience to see all the people that not only came from our parish and our families … but the outpouring of support from hundreds of people we don’t even know whose lives have been touched by our son.”

“It was nerve-wracking, too,” Ann James said. “It was amazing, especially to see all the people that came out who had just met Levi or had known him for a couple of years. I couldn’t believe the support system that he had from all the parishes he’s ever been in.”

Fr. Levi also gave Communion to his parents and family members for the first time.

“What an honor to be able to present your mother with the saving body of Christ which you just consecrated,” he said. “It meant the world to me to be able to give Communion to my parents. … As people came forward, I recognized almost everyone. That was emotional for me. That moment of (saying), ‘The body of Christ,’ and giving Communion to the people, that’s our vocation. We give ourselves to them.”

Ann James said her son was particularly looking forward to consecrating the Eucharist, something he often discussed during his year as a transitional deacon.“He was overjoyed to do that,” she said.

Following the Mass, Fr. Levi attended a reception at the nearby McCormick Center, where he offered his first priestly blessings, including one to his parents.

“I was looking forward to finally being able to talk to all the people that came,” Fr. Levi said. “So many have been supporting me, and I wanted them to know I appreciated that so much. I wanted to give them a moment of time with me. People had come from so far in some cases, so I was ready to let them know how appreciated they were.”

Fr. Levi has been assigned as a parochial vicar in Olney, Lawrenceville, Wendelin and Stringtown, beginning July 1, effective for three years. He also has been appointed vocation promoter, beginning Sept. 1, effective for two years.

“It’s like my backyard,” Fr. Levi said. “I know the area well. I know a lot of people who are there already. I’m very excited to meet the rest of them. And my pastor (Fr. Steven Beatty) has been a good friend for many years. He and I will have a good time working together.

“The first time I met Fr. Steven, I was a camper at Camp Ondessonk. He was the first younger priest I had ever seen. That stuck with me. I was like, ‘That’s odd. I thought they were all 80.’ I remember thinking, ‘Did you start early? Is this something I could do?’”