Dr. Alfred Mauriello recently shared his journey to becoming a deacon to an audience of young adults at Saints Peter and Paul Church in West Chester, writes Dan McCarty for CatholicPhilly.com.

A member of St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish in West Chester, Mauriello admitted that, considering his decades-long estrangement from the church, he had seemed an unlikely candidate for ordination.

He was working as an ear, nose, and throat specialist at his Exton office when a child from a neighboring town went missing. Even though he was a lapsed Catholic at the time, Mauriello made a deal with God.

“If she’s found,” he said, “I’ll go to church this Sunday.”

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The toddler was safely returned to her parents, and Mauriello rediscovered his faith.

At the end of the talk, he urged the audience to achieve their potential through faith in action.

“I encourage everyone to develop that personal relationship with God,” he said. “It’s a lifelong journey.”

Read more about Dr. Alfred Mauriello at CatholicPhilly.com here.

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