In the Diocese of Burlington, we are witness to a very special relationship: a father and son who have both been called to serve the Church, each in their own way.

Deacon Gesualdo Schneider of St. Augustine Parish in Montpelier is the father of Father Brandon Schneider, administrator of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Middlebury, St. Bernadette Church in Bridport, and St. Genevieve Church in Shoreham, as well as judicial vicar for the Diocese of Burlington. If you happen to attend a Mass where they are serving together at the altar, you might assume their journey to that moment was clear-cut, but the truth is far from it.

Vermont Catholic was fortunate to sit down with Deacon Gesualdo Schneider and his wife, Loretta, to discuss their individual journeys of faith and their experience as parents of a son discerning the priesthood and now serving as a priest.

“We are a two-story house,” Deacon Schneider said, meaning that he and his wife have distinct perspectives as father and mother.

Loretta, a lifelong Catholic raised in a practicing family, shared that her faith was deeply tested after the difficult birth of their first child. She and the baby remained in the hospital for eight days, during which no priest came to baptize the child despite her requests. Disheartened and hurt by the experience, she distanced herself from the Church.

During that time the Schneiders had three sons. Each was baptized and received a Catholic education, and Loretta even volunteered at the school. “Many people knew I was not practicing,” she said, “no one ever said to me ‘would you like to talk about this.’”

Deacon Gesualdo grew up in what he described as an “anti-Catholic atmosphere.” Though he and Loretta were married in the Church, he was not baptized or practicing at the time. He attended Mass because he knew that his wife had to come first and that they needed to do things together.

Everything changed during a cruise celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. A program slipped under their cabin door announced that a Catholic Mass would be offered onboard. They decided to attend.

The celebrant, Father Bob Perry OP, was “so charismatic” that Loretta asked to speak with him afterward, and he invited them to breakfast. There, Father Perry simply listened as she shared the experiences that had distanced her from the Church.

His response was direct: “You are only hurting yourself. When are you going to get over it?”

“And that was it,” Loretta said. “I was over it completely. It stopped being a vacation, it became a retreat.”

With Loretta’s case settled, Father Perry turned to Gesualdo. Once his story was told, Father Perry said, “You are a heathen.” That and a subsequent homily on the necessity of Baptism made it clear to Gesualdo that he had to make a choice. He could no longer plead ignorance.

When they returned home the Schneiders began attending Mass regularly and Loretta soon noticed a shift in her husband. Within a year Gesualdo was attending the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults with Loretta as his sponsor.

Around the same time, Loretta sought ways to give back to Jesus after being away for so long. She began serving on the Bishop’s Commission on Women and was appointed to be the chair of the Respect Life Advisory Committee by Bishop Angell. She also joined the Catholic Daughters of the Americas and, within four meetings, was elected court regent.

When a deacon and his wife encouraged Loretta to enter the Lay Formation Program and invited Gesualdo to consider diaconate formation, their vocations truly took root.

One year after the cruise, Gesualdo was baptized. Six years after that, he was ordained to the diaconate. Laughing, he said “I took the short track.”

Reflecting on his journey, Deacon Gesualdo shared that there were many moments in his life where he sensed someone was looking out for him, though he did not recognize it at the time. His faith took shape “when it was clear the Catholic Church taught truth, the Catholic Church knew the truth, the Catholic Church lived the truth, and even the problems found in the Church were explained by the Faith.”

After years of active involvement in parish life, the Schneiders received a phone call from their son Brandon.

“He called, my husband answered the phone and [Brandon] said, ‘I need to talk to Mom.’ [Brandon] said, ‘I’m going to be a priest.’ I said, ‘I’m not surprised, I’m really glad.’ [Brandon] was quiet and he said, ‘well, wait a minute, they told me that your parents are going to be very upset and try to talk you out of it, especially your mother, she’s going to say no.’ Well, I said, ‘I’m sorry to disappoint you.’”

When asked about advice for parents who have a child discerning religious life, Loretta stressed how important it is “to journey with them” and to ask the right questions, just as you would of a child preparing for marriage, such as “Is this the right person for you, is this the right way for you with your vocation?” “I think the big thing is for parents to support them, because it’s not easy as they are going through discerning if this is really the way of life that they want.”

Deacon Gesualdo offered advice as well: “If I was to recommend anything to a priest in formation or a deacon in formation, get out of all of the things you are doing in Church now, spend your time in preparation. God will use us if we let him prepare us first.”

When Father Schneider was ordained to the transitional diaconate and later to the priesthood, Deacon Gesualdo
was able to be at the altar with him, memories that their family treasures.

Thinking of those occasions and each time that father and son are at the altar celebrating Mass together, Loretta reflected, “It is an incredible blessing, I don’t know why God has blessed me so. It is a beautiful honor.”