Luke Suarez

Parish: St. Rose of Lima, Peru

Birthdate: October 8

Seminary: Mundelein Seminary: Entered 2026, Class of 2033

Why did you become a seminarian?

I became a seminarian to discern my call to the priesthood. Since a young age, I have felt a desire to live like Christ in a sacrificial way as a priest. As I matured, I began to fear I needed a perfect reason to justify this desire and instead went to college to study music. In college, after taking my spiritual life seriously and experiencing Christ's love and mercy in the Eucharist and Reconciliation, my desire to be in love with Christ and accept His love despite my sins became the solid cornerstone of my life. With this foundation, my desire to know God's will and have a Christ-like life has led me to overcome my fears and honestly ask, how do You, Lord, desire me to discern Your Will? The answer has been to go to seminary to offer my desire of being a priest to God and His Church and know His Will for me.

What did you do before seminary?
For a year, I worked for the Catholic Diocese of Peoria as the Assistant Director of the Office of Divine Worship. Before working in the Office of Divine Worship, I graduated in 2025 from the University of Illinois @ Urbana - Champaign with my bachelor's degree in music performance.

An interesting fact about you:

I play the Horn (aka the French Horn) and have been a part of several world premieres of chamber, large ensemble, opera, and solo music works. For one of these unique performances, I had to take a credit card and scratch, strike, and pluck the inner strings of a piano.