A chat with Fr. Daniel Stevenot

Tell us about your family
I was the youngest of three boys. I grew up in Shaunavon, Saskatchewan. My father is Belgian, and my mother is French Canadian and Native - part Cree. In 1961, my family moved to Medicine Hat because there were no crops in Shaunavon. His family was members of St. Patrick’s Parish in Medicine Hat.  

How did you discern your vocation?
My mother was very spiritual and she prayed a lot. I would go to Mass with her and learned to pray, so she was a strong influence. In high school, my classmates and I started a youth group, which was quite a novel thing at the time, and we did lots of things, and we prayed together. In the early 70’s when there were a lot of changes in the Church, I began going to daily Mass and praying about my vocation. I told God that I didn’t want to be a priest but wanted to be married with 10 kids. I felt God saying to me, “You will have lots of children”. Also, there were several priests in the diocese that influenced me, like Fr. Krewski, Fr. John Petravicius, and Fr. Len Hagel. I had talked to Fr. Krewski several times about my vocation, and he expressed an interest “to just find out” if he did. Then one day Fr. Krewski told me that Bishop O’Byrne would be in town and wanted to see me. When Bishop O’Byrne asked me why I wanted to be a priest, I remember replying, “My friends are leaving the Church and losing their faith. I want to help people to realise how much God loves them and how they need Him in their lives”. So when I was about 19 years old, I went to the seminary in Waterloo with the Resurrection Fathers. I was supposed to go to the seminary in London but it was too late for registration, so I went to the seminary in Waterloo, which turned out to be a great blessing. 

What’s the best advice ever given to you?
Best advice given to me was to take my time and discern in my heart in my relationship with God what my calling truly is, and not to do it for anyone, or anything, but God alone. I told the Blessed Mother, “I don’t know if I can do this” and I didn’t feel worthy, but I felt Our Lady telling me that God would give me strength and He would lead me.

Share your favourite prayer
The prayer of St. Ignatius “Take Lord, receive…” and the prayer of St. Dominic Savio. 

How to get closer to Jesus? 
This is what I learned through life experience and through prayer. You need to spend time with God, find a quiet place that you can go to and spend time with Him. Sometimes you might question yourself saying “What am I doing here”, but you’ll be surprised when and how you will be touched by God. Just be aware of Him. I also encourage people to read the lives of the Saints, which I did in my youth, and they influenced my life. “They are real people and their love of God reflects who they are. You know it’s not fake”.

Any message for those discerning a vocation?
Have an open mind and heart to God. They may not be led to the priesthood, but all vocations are beautiful. ‘Make time for God, have God in your life, and be a good steward. All vocations are important!”

I can’t believe it’s been 41 years. I thank God for what I have and the people who have helped me along the way, as well as all the parishes, and even the ones that gave me headaches because they helped me to grow. It’s not always easy and there are ups and down in life, but I am happy for who I am, where I am at, and whatever good God has done through me.

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Fr. Daniel Stevenot

Father Daniel Stevenot was born in December of 1953 in Shaunavon, Saskatchewan. He was ordained a priest on September 5, 1980 at St. Patrick’s Church in Medicine Hat by Bishop Paul O’Byrne. In the summer of 1979, Father Stevenot served as chaplain at the Foothills Hospital. After his ordination, he went to St. Basil’s Church in Lethbridge as Assistant Pastor (1980-1983). Subsequently, he went to St. Luke’s Parish and was again assistant pastor (1983-1986) whereupon he was transferred to Sacred Heart Church in Oyen (1986-1990) and was the pastor there for the next four years. In 1990, Father Stevenot became pastor of St. Michael’s Church in Bow Island where he stayed until 1995. The parish of St. Catherine’s in Picture Butte and St. Mary’s in Champion welcomed Father as pastor from 1995-1999. Following this appointment, he served as dean in Lethbridge (1997-1999) and then was appointed pastor of St. Anthony’s in Drumheller (1999-2006). Father Stevenot was then transferred to St. George’s Parish in Hanna (2003-2006). After taking a sabbatical year, Father Stevenot was appointed pastor of Holy Family in Medicine Hat (2006-2007). From there, he went to St. Bernard’s Church (June 2007) as pastor and remained there until August 1, 2015 when he went to St. Mary’s Parish, Banff where he is currently serving as pastor.

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Interview conducted by Anne Marie Brown, Catholic Pastoral Centre