Seminarian Augustine Tardiff

Madonna house seminarian

Augustine grew up in Coventry, Rhode Island. He joined the Madonna House Apostolate in 2015 and in 2023 began seminary studies at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. God willing, he will be ordained a transitional deacon in May of 2026.

Vocation story

I grew up as the oldest of seven children in a large Catholic family south of the border in Coventry, Rhode Island. From an early age it was made clear by word and example that any life worth living would have to have God at its center. In my early teenage years, I took that sentiment to heart and began to discern a calling to religious life. This discernment stayed with me through college, and after graduating from a small liberal arts college in New Hampshire, I began to seriously pursue my vocation. I had always liked the Franciscans, but knew that it would be a major transition to try to join a Franciscan order without ever having lived in a dedicated Christian community. My friend (who had discerned out of a Franciscan order previously) mentioned that there was a community in Canada that he had stayed with for about half a year, and recommended that I give it a try. This was my first introduction to Madonna House, a lay apostolate of consecrated men and women whose headquarters can be found in Combermere, Ontario.

Madonna House proved to be much more than a steppingstone to a “real” vocation. Here I found everything that I was looking for, and much that I did not know would become essential to my relationship with God. All the traditional hallmarks of a religious order exist in some form: Members live celibate lives, consecrated by promises of poverty, chastity, and obedience. They pray the Liturgy of the Hours, attend daily Mass, and work and live in genuine Christian unity. Guests are a constant facet of life, coming in large numbers and staying for up to a year, living the same life as the full-time members. I quickly fell in love with the people, the rhythm of life, and most especially, with the way my relationship with God grew in that fertile environment. I left after six months, paid off college debts for a couple of years, and joined the community officially in 2015.

One thing missing from my early understanding of my vocation was the communal aspect of religious life. I was eager to escape the snares and temptations of the modern world, but I had not given proper credit to the role that people play in bringing souls to God. Suddenly, I had a beautiful lived example as the Madonna House community formed me and many others in simple but powerful ways. With this new understanding of the value of the members of the Body of Christ, the call to the priesthood emerged in a way that it never had before. I began to long to give others the same gifts that had been given to me, and encouraged by the humble witness of the Madonna House priests (who are not above manual labor or other simple acts of loving service) I was able to see priestly role in my future. This call began only months into my beginning at Madonna House, so the discernment became a long-term plan. It is always necessary to solidify formation in one spirituality before layering on something else, and I was content to not rush things, and proceed at God’s pace. I spent a lot of time at our communal farm, and became well-versed in the holiness that is found in common tasks when they are offered up to God. After about eight years of community life, the call to the priesthood became much stronger, and with the blessing of my superiors and the approval of my community, I began my life as a seminarian. I am in my third year at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, and I am on track for Diaconate ordination this coming May. My time after seminary will be lived out in Madonna House as I journey with the Lord to complete the good work He has begun in me.