During the summer of 2025, I had the idea that I wanted to visit the graves of all the priests who have served in the Diocese of Green Bay. I had visited a considerable number—but in comparison to the total number, not many at all. My quest began with visiting the graves of my pastor predecessors of my current parochial assignment and then morphed into priests about whom I had an anecdote to share. My intention was to post a month-long social media series about deceased priests during November, the month dedicated to praying for the dead.  

As I’ve compiled the list of priests and subsequently researched where they were buried, and then searched the cemetery looking for their gravestones to document, I’ve come to several realizations. One of them was this: I didn’t know many of the priests. Even if they were alive during my time of discernment and studies in the seminary, or my priestly ministry, I simply didn’t know them and probably never crossed paths with them. 

I imagine that is the same for any parish or geographic area. If Fr. Leroy Smith (fake name, but surely there’s a priest with that name somewhere in the world) served in Anytown, USA, he would not be known by many people, just the people he faithfully served. In a more mobile age, surely priests in a certain area are better known, especially when the faithful find Mass times that are convenient for their schedule. But outside of Anytown, USA, and a 10-mile radius, you could live your entire Catholic life never having met or heard of Fr. Leroy Smith. 

Today, there are some priests who attain some sort of notoriety because of their facility of preaching the Gospel effectively coupled with the means of modern communication and social media. For example, we have heard of Bishop Robert Barron, Fr. Michael Schmitz, and Fr. David Michael Moses. They are known by people across the United States and the world, something that would have been relatively uncommon a century ago. 

Day in and day out, there are the faithful, quiet priests—who pray their breviary and their Rosary, anoint the dying, celebrate Mass, hear confessions, and bury the dead—whose lives we don’t know. Maybe it’s their stories that we should know. In very few cases, the Church has put forward some of these heroic priests who are Servants of God, Venerables, Blesseds, or Saints, or their cause may just be beginning. One such example is recently-beatified Blessed Salvador Valera Parra.

Day in and day out, there are the faithful, quiet priests—who pray their breviary and their Rosary, anoint the dying, celebrate Mass, hear confessions, and bury the dead—whose lives we don’t know. Tweet This

On Saturday, February 14, Kevin Wells, a friend of mine, texted me an article he had just published with Catholic World Report about a priest in West Virginia and his heroic faith and priesthood. Kevin has a penchant for identifying and highlighting priests that are hidden and unknown to many. His book Priest and Beggar, about Venerable Aloysius Schwartz, rocked my world when I happened to hear an interview about it on the radio. I stayed in my car for 20 minutes after reaching my destination so I could hear the entire interview. His latest book, The Hermit, recounts his family’s journey with a priest, now turned hermit, who helped to spiritually deliver Kevin’s wife from the throes of addiction. 

That Saturday morning, I only skimmed the article, concluding that it was interesting and maybe in the future I would read it in its entirety. Due to a series of events that unfolded, I did read it the next evening.

I had just flown into San Francisco for the week to be a student in the inaugural cohort with the Center for Sainthood Studies. I was learning the inner workings of sainthood causes alongside people also working to advance a person to sainthood. It was Sunday night, and two gentlemen sat down at the table with me. In those first encounters, we enthusiastically shared whose cause we are working on. These two fellows began talking about their Fr. Charles Carroll. At some point, they name-dropped Kevin Wells. That’s when I made the connection that they are promoting the very priest Kevin just wrote about. (And had I read Kevin’s article, I would have known they were going to be at the certificate course). 

Throughout the week, they regaled me with their memories and stories about Fr. Carroll—his devoted service to parishes the bishop sent him to close; his desire to establish a school and how he drove the bus to pick up the students; how Fr. Carroll made himself available to his parishioners. I came to believe the tremendous impact he had on their lives, and I could only imagine how many others had stories about Fr. Carroll’s impact. Fr. Carroll was hidden in the Appalachian Mountains, quietly serving His Lord and the people of God, and now a group has spearheaded a potential cause for sainthood for this faithful priest.   

In our sainthood classes, we spoke of the two “i’s”: imitation and intercession; but I’d add a third “i”: inspiration. Fr. Carroll inspired the people to whom he ministered, but he can also inspire the Church today. I hope Fr. Charles R. Carroll can inspire people who have given up on priests for any number of reasons. If you are a priest, be inspired by the selfless example of Fr. Carroll. Priests need to know the stories of other priests so that they can be inspired by saintly priests. The people of God need priests who have been inspired who will, in turn, form their parishioners into saints and guide them along the path of holiness. 

If you are a priest, be inspired by the selfless example of Fr. Carroll. Priests need to know the stories of other priests so that they can be inspired by saintly priests.Tweet This

I hope to learn more about Fr. Charles R. Carroll going forward. But I’ve already begun asking him to pray for me. I pray that I might love my parish and people in the same way that he devotedly served his parishioners. If you are delighted with your priest, thank God, and pray he be like the saintly priests whose lives are mostly unknown. If your priest somehow disappoints you, ask Fr. Charles R. Carroll to intercede for him and his ministry. 

When the priests of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, Fr. Carroll’s diocese, look in their Ordo, a book that outlines each liturgical day, and glance at the day’s corresponding necrology for December 6, they will see Fr. Charles R. Carroll’s name (d. 1993). Younger priests may have never heard of him, and older priests may remember him for his faithful priestly ministry. But now, young and old will know his name—not only praying for his eternal rest but asking for his prayers as his cause for canonization begins. And no matter if you are priest or lay, from West Virginia or anywhere in the United States or the world, you can know his name and ask his prayers, too.

Eternal Father, source of all blessings, you guide us through your Son Jesus Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit. Fr. Charles R. Carroll was known by many as a man of faith, virtue, and charity. Through his intercession, grant the grace we now humbly ask: (mention your request here). If it is your will, may his life continue to inspire us to follow Christ faithfully. Through Christ our Lord. Amen