Seminarian Deacon Garrett Aberle

Minot, ND
Theology IV
Saint Paul Seminary; St. Paul, MN

Deacon Garrett Aberle grew up in Puerto Rico but returned to his parents' native North Dakota in eighth grade. Serving at the altar interested him since he was a young boy, though priesthood as a concrete vocation never crossed his mind. The idea of the priesthood surfaced more fully in high school after he established a regular prayer life, and the frequency and intensity only increased. At the end of high school, he was becoming more certain that God was calling him to consider the priesthood more seriously, but decided not to pursue seminary at that time. He then studied mechanical engineering at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks for two years, during which he found a spiritual director and some good spiritual friends to guide him in his discernment. After the two years of engineering studies and some retreats to assist in discernment, going to seminary came up in prayer for the first time. This gave him the peace he could not find in his current life despite his closeness to the sacraments and regular life of prayer. After having received this gift of peace concerning going to seminary he decided to apply for the Diocese of Fargo. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy in the spring of 2022 at St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, NE. He is pursuing his theological studies at St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, MN.