by Moira Cullings
moira.cullings@theleaven.org
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Deacon John Wesley Donart was in middle school the first time he felt called to the priesthood.
His first thought was, “If I ignore it, it’ll go away.”
“I ran away from it for a long time,” said Deacon Donart.
By the time he got to high school, he hadn’t warmed up to the idea of becoming a priest, and various presentations to students about religious vocations didn’t land well.
“I’d always experience it negatively,” said Deacon Donart. “This can’t be for me. I don’t want that to be for me.”
Beneath those feelings was the realization that it was actually for him — and that eventually won out.
Deacon Donart, who will turn 29 on May 2, was ordained a transitional deacon by Archbishop Emeritus Joseph F. Naumann on May 17, 2025, at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Kansas City, Kansas.
He and two other men will be ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Shawn McKnight on May 23 at Most Pure Heart of Mary Church in Topeka.
Early life
Donart was born to John and Lisa Donart and grew up with his older sister Abby in Kansas City, Missouri, where his family attended St. Bernadette Parish, until he was six.
They moved in 2003, and he spent the remainder of his childhood at Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Shawnee, where he attended the parish school.
Lisa was a paralegal, then worked in pharmaceutical research, and is now a pastoral associate at Church of the Ascension in Overland Park. John works for Garmin in the IT department.
Abby is now a Catholic grade schoolteacher in Wichita.
A significant moment in the Donart family story was John’s conversion to Catholicism before he married Lisa.
“That’s something that’s really marked our family,” said Deacon Donart.
When he was growing up, Donart’s family attended Mass each Sunday, but the faith wasn’t ingrained into their lives beyond that.
“In some ways, I see that my grandparents — my mom’s parents — were very strong models of faith,” said Deacon Donart. “They were the ones who were going to Mass daily and praying the rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet daily.
“They very faithfully lived out daily prayer life.”
By the time he entered seminary, his parents’ faith had begun to blossom alongside his own, and he’s enjoyed growing spiritually together.
“The journey of faith is ongoing,” said Deacon Donart. “We’re always going deeper.”
Change of heart
Deacon Donart’s time at St. James Academy in Lenexa laid the foundation for his eventual journey toward the priesthood.
Looking back, he’s impressed by the school’s intellectual faith formation.
“That really laid principles for not just understanding the faith but understanding who Jesus is and that he died for me,” said Deacon Donart.
“That was written on my heart throughout high school — that we are broken people,” he continued, “but Jesus came and died for us and offered us salvation.
“And that requires a response from us.”
Donart graduated from St. James in 2015 and attended Kansas State University in Manhattan for one year before transferring to the University of Kansas in Lawrence, where he majored in geography.
“At a public university, [you’re] constantly being confronted with the counter narrative to the Gospel narrative — that we’re only material, that everybody should be able to do what they want,” said Deacon Donart.
“I was always appreciative that even though I was still struggling through those things and wrestling with the questions presented to me, I always fell back on the foundation they made for me in high school,” he said.
The urge to run from the priesthood was replaced by a different impulse while Donart was working at Camp Tekakwitha at Prairie Star Ranch in Williamsburg for the second summer between his sophomore and junior year of college.
“Through reading the Gospel, I really had something of a conversion and a call to return to the sacrament of reconciliation,” he said. “I felt like I had a very honest and open and intense moment in the sacrament.
“After that, it was super clear — I’m supposed to go to the seminary.”
Taking up the call
Deacon Donart arrived at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver in 2019.
Since then, he’s encountered fellow seminarians, professors and spiritual directors who have shaped his vocation.
Learning from one professor, in particular, about how Christ constitutes his church through the priest has been impactful.
“That is what the Lord is doing through me and why he’s called me,” said Deacon Donart. “I’m a very particular, specific person that he has given this grace to act with him in this ministry.”
Deacon Donart looks forward to coming home to the archdiocese and bringing people together through the church.
“I’ve always been excited to celebrate Mass and to hear confessions,” he said. “Now, after learning more about the anointing of the sick and seeing it work in people’s lives and Christ being present, I’m excited to do that.
“But, also, [I look forward to] the little ways of being a good priest and being good to the people entrusted to me.”
Getting to know Deacon John Wesley Donart, Jr.
Age: 28
Birthday: May 2, 1997
Born/raised: Shawnee
Parish I grew up in: Sacred Heart, Shawnee
Parents: John and Lisa
Sibling(s): Abby
Education: B.S. Geography (University of Kansas)
Favorite food: Pepperoni pizza
If I could live in any time period in history, it would be pioneer times in the Great Plains because of the characters I’d meet.
The quality I admire most in people is a good sense of humor — i.e., they laugh at my jokes.
Aside from Christ and his mother, the biblical character I most want to know more about is Elisha because of all the miracles and raw power in prophecy.
My favorite Scripture passage: Luke 22:60-62
My favorite place I’ve traveled to is Cologne, Germany.
If you were making a movie of your life, who would play you and why? Dolph Lundgren (Rock IV). It’s a natural comparison.
I deal with failure by: survive and advance
When I wind up with free time and have no plans, I usually watch movies on my long-running movie watchlist.
My all-time favorite movie: “A Few Good Men”
If I have an important decision to make, I start by evaluating possible economic outcomes.
Hidden talent(s): I can fill out a scorecard for a baseball game.
The one thing I’ve always wanted to do but never tried: fly a plane
If I hadn’t felt called to become a priest, my dream job would have been: donut shop proprietor. Or an urban planner.
