About the Novitiate
THE NOVITIATE
About the Novitiate
THE NOVITIATE
Every August, St. Albert the Great Priory welcomes a new novitiate class - those men considering religious life and priesthood in the Dominican Order. Men wishing to enter the Dominican Order spend their first year of discernment with us. The novitiate year is dedicated to living Dominican life in a focused way. During the novitiate year, the novice comes to a better understanding of vowed Dominican life through:
Experiencing communal and personal prayer
Spending quiet time in reflection and study
Participating in daily Mass
Living community life
Ministering in the local community
Studying Dominican history, our constitutions, the vows, spirituality, etc.
Click the button below to buy books and other items for the novices.
To learn more about becoming a Dominican friar, visit our vocations website at
www.DominicanVocations.com
The Novices
THE NOVICES
The Novices
THE NOVICES
BR. AUGUSTINE MARY GREEN
Alma Mater: Kansas State University
Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas
Br. Augustine Mary grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, with his two siblings. He studied computer engineering at Kansas State University, where he became active at St. Isidore’s Catholic Student Center and joined the Catholic Household of Chi Rho. Through these communities, he began to discern a call to the priesthood and to seek a deeper life of faith. As he continued to discern his vocation, he was drawn to the Dominican Order because of its rich intellectual tradition, deep life of prayer, and commitment to preaching the truth.
BR. MAXIMILIAN KOLBE FORET
Alma Mater: University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Br. Maximilian Kolbe grew up in North Carolina, first in Hickory and later in the Charlotte area. He studied biology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, earning both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in biology. During his time at UNCC, he became active in campus ministry and parish life at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, where he began to discern a call to the priesthood. His interest in the Dominican Order began when he picked up the Summa Theologiae and soon developed a deep love for St. Thomas Aquinas and his intellectual tradition. He was drawn to the Dominicans by their commitment to teaching, preaching, and study.
BR. VINCENT FERRER WEEKS
Alma Mater: Rice University
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Br. Vincent Ferrer was born in Austin, Texas, after his parents moved there from Nebraska. He studied medieval history and religion at Rice University, where his Catholic faith deepened through the writings of the Church Fathers and a growing appreciation for the richness of the Church’s liturgy. He first encountered the Dominicans through his patron, St. Thomas Aquinas, whose example inspired in him a desire for the priesthood and religious life. He later came to know and love the Order through the preaching and ministry of the friars at Holy Rosary Church in Houston.
BR. AQUINAS ONYEBUCHI
Alma Mater: University of Houston
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Br. Aquinas grew up in Abuja, Nigeria, as the youngest of three children, with two older sisters. He moved to Houston, Texas, as a teenager to continue his education and later attended the University of Houston, where he studied computer information systems. During his first year of college, he experienced a conversion that led him to seek a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith. Soon afterward, he discovered the life and writings of St. Thomas Aquinas and was deeply moved by his devotion to God and his philosophical and theological thought. Drawn by a desire to preach, teach, and live the evangelical counsels, he discerned a call to join the Dominicans.
BR. JUAN PABLO SOLANO
Alma Mater: University of Central Florida
Hometown: Kissimmee, Florida
Br. Juan Pablo was born in Cali, Colombia, and came to the United States with his mother when he was one year old. He was raised in the Orlando-Kissimmee area of Florida and studied economics at the University of Central Florida, graduating in 2024. He first encountered the Dominicans through their online presence and eventually attended a Come and See Weekend. There, he was drawn to the friars’ dedication to teaching and preaching, as well as their deep life of prayer. He looks forward to growing in his vocation and becoming more fully the person God has created him to be.
BR. BRENDAN PETER HUGHES
Alma Mater: University of Houston
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Br. Brendan Peter was born in Houston, Texas, and grew up in the now-bustling suburb of Pearland. He studied philosophy at the University of Houston, where he first began to discern a call to the Dominican Order. His interest in the Order began when a former campus minister invited him to a Come and See weekend. During the weekend, he was deeply moved by the joy and fraternity he encountered in the communal and religious life of the friars. After several more years of discernment and spiritual direction, he came to recognize the Dominican vocation as a place where he could give himself more fully to God and to the Church.
BR. FRANCIS EMMANUEL LAWSON
Alma Mater: St. Joseph Seminary College
Hometown: Perry, Georgia
Br. Francis Emmanuel grew up in Perry, Georgia, as the middle child in a family of five. He attended the University of Georgia before entering the seminary for the Archdiocese of Atlanta. He earned his degree from St. Joseph Seminary College and discerned out of the seminary in 2019. He then spent several years teaching high school in Atlanta, where he discovered a profound peace in teaching and preaching and continued to discern a call to religious life. Through prayer and discernment, he came to recognize the Dominican Order as the place where these desires could come together in service of the Church.