DEACON CHRIS LUONI: NEW CAREER

Deacon Chris Luoni: New career
You might say that Chris Luoni had it all: A good job in a large company, his own home, a serious girlfriend.
But, when the call to the priesthood came, he knew there was something more to life.
Now a deacon, Luoni, 39, entered Mount St. Mary's Seminary of the West in Cincinnati in 1999. He completed one year of pre-theology classes and three years of seminary studies. He spent the past year as an intern at Immaculate Heart of Mary parish in Austintown. He was ordained a deacon in May. He has returned to the seminary this fall for one more year of classes and, if all goes as planned, he will be ordained a priest in May 2005.
Life-altering experience
Luoni first considered the priesthood in 1992 after an experience during a Palm Sunday service in his home parish of St. Joseph in Canton. A participant in the service, he was at the altar, when, he said, "I got this overwhelming feeling." Something told him "You belong here. This is where you should be," he said.
He spoke to his priest and a diocesan vocations counselor. He had a serious girlfriend at the time, he said. They had talked about marriage, but when this happened, the pair parted on good terms, he said. However, Luoni didn't enter seminary then.
"I was still really focused on my career," he said.
At the time he was working at Suarez Corporation Industry, a small company with 250 employees that grew to 900 before he left. He was an analyst and then a project manager in the media department and later became a human resources manager.
He left in 1997 to buy a Mad Scientist franchise in the Akron area. The business gives children ages 5 to 12 hands-on experience with science equipment at birthday parties and in schools. He had one full-time and eight part-time employees. He sold the business in 1998 and went to work for Carlisle Engineering Products, a Syracuse, N.Y.-based Fortune 1000 company with a division in Akron.
But the idea of becoming a priest didn't pass, so in late 1999 he met with the company's career counselor.
"I walked away from that meeting just knowing that it was the right thing to do," Luoni said. He visited three seminaries, made his decision, and gave his company two months' notice.
He had another serious girlfriend and they also parted on good terms, he said. His family was supportive, though "it took some time for my mother to come around," he said. If he had any doubts himself, they disappeared as he prepared to go.
"I didn't miss the paycheck," he said, "I was just graced with the fact God said, 'I will provide for you.'" The most convincing sign, he said, was the fact it took just one evening for his house to sell.
"From there it has been a fabulous ride," he said.
The stories of sexual abuse by priests came into the open while he was in school.
"It was so hurtful to know that priests had done this," he said. But he believes that those who seek forgiveness should be granted it, and the victims should forgive to help in their healing process. Luoni said the training of priests has changed significantly in the past few decades. "We've made efforts to make sure it never happens again," he said.
Work experience
Luoni said his work experience has helped in his new career choice. Being in human resources showed him that there are two sides to every story. It also taught him to think on his feet and to speak before crowds. In turn, he is a consultant for the National Association of Church Personnel Administrators.
As an intern at Immaculate Heart, he worked with and occasionally counseled members of a parish he describes as "one of the most vibrant parishes I've ever seen." He has made hospital and home visits, and, after becoming a deacon, could perform funerals, baptisms and weddings that were not in the context of a Mass.
He said the internship "is a really good way to get experience of what it's all about." Studying is important, but "it's nothing compared to actually doing it."
He credits his life before the seminary with helping him to cope with loneliness. In his spare time, he likes to cook, shop and do landscaping, and he goes for a walk every night.
Born to a Catholic father and a Presbyterian mother in Charleston, W.Va., Luoni moved with his family to Pittsburgh when he was 13. Two years later they moved to Canton. He always attended Catholic schools and graduated in 1983 from Central Catholic High School in Canton. He received a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Akron in 1988.