A 13-year-old Catholic school student in New Jersey says a childhood encounter with God first planted the desire for the priesthood in his heart — and that years later, during a frightening medical crisis, he experienced another encounter that strengthened his faith.
Dominic Auricchio, a rising eighth-grader at Holy Trinity School in Westfield, New Jersey, says his vocation began when he was only 4 years old.
“I had a dream and God came to me,” Dominic told The Post. “He told me to be a priest, and then I went into my mom’s bedroom … it was the middle of the night … and ever since then I’ve wanted to become a priest.”
More than eight years later, that childhood conviction has remained. Dominic currently hopes to follow in the footsteps of his father, Neal, who served two tours in Iraq as a Marine and received the Purple Heart, before eventually pursuing the priesthood.
“It’s now priest slash Marine. I want to become a Marine first and then join the priesthood,” Dominic said, according to The Post.
But Dominic’s faith has been tested by serious health challenges. In December 2022, he began experiencing headaches, and an MRI revealed a large mass on his brain. As his family weighed difficult treatment options, Dominic says something extraordinary happened in May 2023 that strengthened both his faith and his hope.
According to The Post, Dominic said the Virgin Mary appeared to him in his bedroom and reassured him about what he was facing.
“She was dressed just like we imagine her . . . and she told me that everything would be OK,” Dominic recalled.
The following month, Dominic underwent another scan. His mother said doctors then told the family there was no reason to proceed with the surgery they had been considering.
“Now, when he has an MRI, it appears as just a very small blip,” Maria told The Post.
The family has not claimed a medically verified miracle, but Dominic’s reported experience has become an important part of his personal testimony of faith.
Throughout his health struggles, Dominic said he continued praying. His mother recalled overhearing him speaking to God from the backseat of the car after his diagnosis.
“He’s just going, ‘I’m just too young to die’ . . . very like matter of fact and calm,” she said.
Dominic has also experienced seizures, including a serious episode earlier this year that left him hospitalized for six days. The causes of the seizures remain unknown, according to The Post.
Rather than allowing those experiences to turn his attention inward, Dominic says they have helped him better understand people who are frightened or suffering.
“These experiences have helped me understand how other people feel when they are scared or hurting,” he said. “I want to be someone who brings comfort and hope.”
That desire for service is already visible in his parish life.
Dominic serves as an altar boy at St. Helen’s Church and also volunteers as a buddy to an autistic girl during the parish’s inclusive Masses, according to The Post. The program pairs people with disabilities with companions who can help them participate in Mass.
“I feel closer to God every time I do that,” Dominic said.
His Catholic faith is also a family commitment. Maria said her three sons are altar servers and that the family arranges Sunday Mass around sports schedules — or, when necessary, chooses Mass over the sporting event.
Dominic’s story recently received wider recognition when he won this year’s Cardinal Joseph Tobin Essay and Video Contest, sponsored by the Archdiocese of Newark. Forty-nine seventh-grade students representing the archdiocese’s Catholic schools participated, according to The Post.
Dominic learned about the competition while hospitalized following his fifth seizure. His winning entry shared his love for his family and hockey alongside his experiences of faith, illness and his continuing sense that God may be calling him to the priesthood.
“Priesthood is a life of service, sacrifice and joy, centered on Jesus,” Dominic says in his video. “I trust that God is guiding me step by step. And I hope to answer his call one day.”
Dominic was awarded a plaque and $1,500 for his winning essay and video.
His devotion has also reached Rome. When Dominic was in fifth grade, he wrote to Pope Francis asking for blessed religious objects. He later received a military Bible, holy water and a crucifix that he was told had been blessed by the Pope.
“I was really excited that morning,” Dominic recalled.
For a teenager who has already faced medical uncertainty, hospitalization and seizures, Dominic’s understanding of vocation remains rooted in trust rather than certainty about what lies ahead.
“God is always working in his own ways,” he told The Post.
“Even if something bad happens, it’s part of his plan, so you just have to go with it.”
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