Mr. Michael Gray

Seminarian: Pre-Pastoral Year, Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish

     My name is Michael Gray.  I was born here in San Jose at Good Samaritan Hospital, and I have lived here all my life.  My home parishes have been Sacred Heart in Saratoga and Queen of Apostles in San Jose.   I went to Bellarmine College Prep, and I graduated from Santa Clara University in 2008 with a degree in Greek and Latin.

     I have always been interested in my Catholic faith and doing work for the church, but I never seriously thought about becoming a priest until I talked about it with my second cousin, Tom Paprocki, the Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago.   When Bishop Tom talked about why he decided to become a priest, I was honestly struck by how much of what he said sounded like me. I  decided to explore the matter further, and to make a long story short, now I'm here at the seminary, studying pre-theology.

     As for my interests, I do a lot of work with reading and preserving old manuscripts.   I write a bit in my spare time, and I am a big fan of playing videogames. My favorite sport is ice hockey (go Sharks!), and I hope to become a valuable addition to the San Jose Seminarian basketball team.