After more than 30 years as a priest of New Jersey’s Trenton diocese, Monsignor Leonard Troiano, 67, faced one of the biggest challenges of his priesthood last fall when Hurricane Sandy devastated his parish.

After more than 30 years as a priest of New Jersey’s Trenton diocese, Monsignor Leonard Troiano, 67, faced one of the biggest challenges of his priesthood last fall when Hurricane Sandy devastated his parish.

Ordained in 1990 at the age of 39, Monsignor Robert Jaeger became a priest after working in the secular world for a decade. He is currently pastor of St. Paul’s Parish in Colorado Springs (where he had served as an associate pastor after ordination) and vicar general and master of ceremonies for the Colorado Springs diocese.

Ordained in 1967 in his native Italy, Servants of Charity priest Fortunato Turati, 71, has worked in America since 1968 — mostly at the St. Louis Center for the mentally and physically disabled.

Born in the New York City area, Fr. Peter Rau relocated to Atlanta when he was a mere 17 months old. Currently pastor of St. Peter Chanel Catholic Church in Roswell, Ga., Fr. Rau calls his fourth pastoral assignment “a very exciting time.” A fan of scriptural rosary and Eucharistic adoration, the priest loves being a part of his parishioners’ lives and the lives of Atlanta’s budding Legatus chapter, which is quickly growing toward its chartering.

Father Howard Lincoln’s mother would have cried had she lived to see him become a Catholic, let alone a priest: “Cry like she did when it was announced JFK was elected because she thought the Pope would really be president.” But Fr. Lincoln, 66, is sure she now knows the truth of the faith she regarded with prejudice born of ignorance.

Installed as chaplain in late 2011, Fr. Jeremiah Lynch, SJ, succeeded longtime chaplain Fr. Anthony Brankin, whose new pastoral duties were too heavy for him to retain his chaplaincy. The eldest of eight, Fr. Lynch is a native Chicagoan and worldwide traveler whose Jesuit preparation included two years teaching high school in Peru.

Monsignor James C. Vlaun is devoted to Catholic media, his Long Island Legates, and the New York Jets, whom he serves as Catholic chaplain. His main ministry, however, is serving the new evangelization using a variety of media to champion the faith — as president and CEO of Telecare (the TV station of the Rockville Centre diocese), host of the nationally-syndicated radio show Religion and Rock, and author of such books as Feasts of Life: Recipes from Nana’s Wooden Spoon.

Raised on a farm outside Omaha, 38-year-old Fr. Ryan P. Lewis was called to the priesthood early and ordained at 25. The canon law expert served as archdiocesan vice chancellor before becoming pastor of St. Thomas More in Omaha. His favorite part of the parish job is the school, where he teaches junior-high religion.

At 72, Monsignor Frank Bognanno continues going onward and upward in life. Former chancellor of the Des Moines diocese, past chairman of the National Association for Catechumenal Ministry and current pastor of Christ the King Parish in Des Moines, he has a rare distinction among clerics, having completed several triathlons. His latest upward challenge has been with the return of a “thankfully minimal form of prostate cancer,” and he expects to be OK. It didn’t hinder him from recently climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to promote cancer research, awareness and prevention.

Monsignor Jason Gray has above-average responsibilities in the most average city in America. In addition to serving as pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Peoria, the 40-year-old is the diocesan judicial vicar. Most of his work for the tribunal involves annulments, “a most important ministry.” Recently, however, his work in canon law took a turn from the mundane to the miraculous: He headed the investigation into a possible miracle attributed to Servant of God Fulton J. Sheen, whose cause for beatification the Peoria diocese is promoting on behalf of its most famous native son.

Musician and musicologist Fr. Reynold Furrell, 50, played in Hollywood orchestras for movies and sitcoms before divine inspiration struck a different chord. Today he is founding pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Ladera Ranch, Calif., and the founding chaplain of the Orange Canyons Chapter, which chartered last November.

Musician and musicologist Fr. Reynold Furrell, 50, played in Hollywood orchestras for movies and sitcoms before divine inspiration struck a different chord. Today he is founding pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Ladera Ranch, Calif., and the founding chaplain of the Orange Canyons Chapter, which chartered last November.

“My bio could fit on a postage stamp,” jokes the longtime pastor of St. Thomas More Church in Allentown, Pa., the second of only two full-time parish assignments he has had since his ordination in 1964.

As a priest of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, Bishop Kevin W. Vann had pastored parishes ranging in size from 35 to 1,300 families. Then in 2005, he was asked to leave the Land of Lincoln to shepherd a multi-parish congregation in a state where little is done that isn’t giant — some 700,000 Catholics stretching over the 25,000 square miles that comprise the Fort Worth diocese.

Fr. James A. Bramlage recently retired from full-time ministry, consisting of decades of pastoral work and a seven-year administrative stint for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Vacating his longtime post as pastor of the Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains has freed him to pinch-hit for priests throughout the archdiocese, read more books (history and historical fiction, especially), spend more time in the kitchen creating concoctions his friends call gourmet (though he balks at the frou-frou-sounding appellation) and devote more time to serving the chapter he helped found.

Monsignor Michael Billian, 53, just served 12 years as chancellor of the Toledo diocese. Before that he led one of Toledo’s premier Catholic high schools, giving him invaluable experience as an educator and fundraiser. Just a few months ago — in September — he got his first full-time parish pastoral assignment.

Ordained in mid-life in 1994, Fr. Gordon Kalil’s journey to the priesthood took an unlikely trajectory. After serving nearly five years in the Air Force, working in microbiology and assisting in autopsies on servicemen returning from Vietnam, he had a meteoric rise in the fashion industry.

Ordained in mid-life in 1994, Fr. Gordon Kalil’s journey to the priesthood took an unlikely trajectory. After serving nearly five years in the Air Force, working in microbiology and assisting in autopsies on servicemen returning from Vietnam, he had a meteoric rise in the fashion industry.

Ordained in 1996 for the Archdiocese of Toronto, Fr. Larry Marcille served in parish ministry until 2000, before being appointed vocations director by the late Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic.