Athlete, convert to Catholicism and future priest: the story of Josh Brooks

Josh Brooks, originally from Delaware County, in the United States, dreamed of following in the footsteps of his idol LeBron James and becoming a professional basketball player. However, God had other plans for him.

Today, Brooks attends the third year of university formation at the San Carlos Borromeo Seminary of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and prepares for the priesthood.

“I don’t want to live just for myself, but I want to bring the joy that God has given me to other people,” Brooks said, in a recent interview granted a Catholic Phillythe official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

In Baptist faith in his childhood, Brooks had his first contact with Catholicism when his parents enrolled him in San Ignacio de Loyola Elementary School in western Philadelphia. Later, at Monsignor Bonner & Archbishop Prendergast school, its interest in Catholic faith increased.

“Little by little, my attention was turning to the Catholic Theology classes, where I learned about the identity of the baptized. I was attracted to discover how the Catholic Church is a universal family. I had not had the best family during my childhood, so that made me feel that I was called to be part of something special,” Brooks recalls.

Although during his adolescence he dedicated much of his time to train to be part of the school basketball team, he finally failed to reach that dream. “He left me wondering what I was going to do with my life if basketball, which was my great dream, was no longer an option,” he said.

In his search for meaning, he tried to fill the void with a romantic relationship, but realized that his heart yearned for something deeper. “I asked that young woman: ‘Could you wait for me?’

That moment marked a turning point. “Without thinking too much, I reacted. And look at me now: I have found so much joy, an inner fire that drives me to be for God and for others,” Brooks said in the interview.

In the San Carlos Borromeo Seminar he has found not only a vocation, but also brothers. “I never had brothers, so I didn’t know what it was to have them. Here I found brothers with different interests and personalities. In the center of everything, these boys help each other to grow,” he says.

His seminary partner Sean Barker stands out precisely that fraternal spirit of Josh. “The first person I met was Josh. When speaking with him and knowing him, I felt great joy. He shows how much people care, the deep respect and admiration he has for the rich spirituality of the Church.”

“He wants me to be better: to spend more time in the church, to take my spiritual life more seriously, to apply me more in studies. It is a real model to follow. That is what impresses me most about him,” said his partner.

In the interview, Josh highlighted the “rich tradition and history” of the Catholic Church, but also that it is “a great family.” He also invited others who are trying to rediscover their faith to approach: “We are not a perfect people, but we are guided by a God who transcends all things and knows us better than ourselves,” he said.

What most defines this young seminarian is his deep life of prayer and his desire to be a priest. Although his parents are not Catholics, they support his vocation, and he pray every day for his conversion.

“In the heart of our search for the highest form of love, we will find it here, where we meet at the altar of God and build our house in it,” concludes Josh.