James Pierce Cavanaugh IV (called ‘Pierce’ in the Order) will make his first Profession to the Dominican Order on Sunday, August 9, 2015 along with five other classmates. Pierce is the son of James Pierce III and Mariane Cavanaugh of Indianapolis. They are members of St. Pius X Church. Pierce graduated from Bishop Chatard High School in 2010 and attended Indiana University where he graduated in December 2013 with a degree in sports broadcasting. During Pierce’s years in Bloomington, IN he attended St. Paul Catholic Center, the campus ministry at Indiana University; the Dominican friars staff this Center. When he started broadcasting women’s volleyball and softball for the Indiana Hoosiers, it seemed like the beginning of the fulfillment of a career dream, but, he says, there was something missing. A student Dominican intern, Br. Raphael, suggested that he visit St. Louis just “to see what the Dominicans are about.” He did, and it opened his eyes to the joy of a religious vocation; it touched the yearning of his heart. He pursued this intuition and entered the novitiate in Denver, CO in August 2014. The novitiate is a one-year time of discernment under the guidance of a novice master. The emphasis of this year is growth in personal self-awareness and development, and growth in prayer and learning the ways of Dominican community life. Upon making profession, these men can append the suffix “O.P” to their name, joining the Order of Preachers founded in 1216 by St. Dominic de Guzman. The six novices making profession will join seventeen other student brothers in St. Louis. The students will live at St. Dominic Priory and attend Aquinas Institute of Theology for their theological education as seminarians for the next six years. The Province of St. Albert the Great Province consists of 14 Midwestern states, including Indiana. Thank you to Bill Skowronski, Dominican Friars Communication Director, for this information.