Only one person thought Father John was the right choice to become the pastor of a small Catholic Church in the country called All Saints Parish. Luckily for Father John, that person was Bishop Charles, who was very well-liked and respected among the clergy and the Church.

So just a few years after barely passing seminary, Father John was appointed by Bishop Charles to a small church in the countryside of a small town in Idaho. It was a farming town made up of 400 families. This was Father John’s first assignment as the Pastor of a Parish.

All Saints Parish was one the smallest in the diocese and full of lukewarm Catholics, who would miss Mass if anything came up. Only a few people took their faith seriously at this parish. The previous pastor had taken over at a young age, but died suddenly from illness. It took more than a year for the bishop to find a priest to take on this small parish that only had a handful of families as parishioners.

When Father John was traveling to his new parish, he got lost and asked some local boys where the parish was located. They pointed out where the church was located and thanking them, Father John replied with these prophetic words: You have shown me the way to All Saints Parish, and now I will show you the way to heaven.

Father John could not have imagined what the next few months would have in store for him.