Rev. Don Kline

Press Room for the Diocese of Phoenix

Rev. Don Kline

His road to the priesthood was not a straight one, but the detours he took along the way likely prepared Fr. Donald Kline for his role as vocation director for the Diocese of Phoenix.

At 37, Fr. Kline realizes he is in a job usually filled by more veteran priests. But he believes that a combination of his life experiences and his God-given gifts have prepared him to take on the role of recruiting and helping to shepherd young men into the priesthood.

“I was interested in it because I love the priesthood,” he said. “I love being a priest. I enjoy parish work and I want to invite other people not to miss out on their calling. I want to look for qualities in guys that would serve people well and I think I have a sense of what that is.

“Ultimately, I am the middleman,” Fr. Kline added. “God is the ultimate vocation director. I feel like I have to point these guys in a certain direction, either toward a life of service in the Church as a priest or some other thing. In some ways it is an awesome responsibility. But it’s not just up to me. I have a whole team helping me. A review board, a psychologist, references from pastors, friends, co-workers. So there is a whole lot involved.”

Along with his own innate abilities, Fr. Kline also can draw on his own experiences when counseling young seminarians.

Born and raised in Phoenix, Fr. Kline went to Catholic elementary and high schools. While at Arizona State University, a thought that had always been in the background burst into the forefront of his mind.

“I was actually dating at the time and a priest asked me whether I had ever thought about priesthood and it just got me thinking,” he said. “I don’t even know why he would say that. I started talking to my mom, dad, girlfriend and they all said, ‘Well, I can see you doing that.

“I had a tremendous sense of ‘I’m not worthy, I know who I am,’” Fr. Kline continued. “I just didn’t think God would want me. I had a sense that I shouldn’t pursue this. But at the same time I thought, ‘If these people see this in me, maybe I should at least look into this.’”

Other people, especially his family, did indeed see something in Fr. Kline that he himself had not yet recognized.

“It wasn’t too much of a surprise,” said Fr. Kline’s father Don Kline, “Donny was always somewhat drawn, being an altar boy and doing different things for the Church all the time. It wasn’t a really big surprise because we had a little inkling.”

Or possibly more than an inkling. The elder Kline clearly remembers a neighbor’s prophetic words about his then-five-year-old son.

“(The neighbor) said, ‘I see something in your son that is very unusual,’” Don Kline said. “He said, ‘Your son is destined for something. I can’t say what it is for sure, but something along the religious line.’”

In 1987, at the age of 21, Fr. Kline entered St. Meinrad’s Seminary in Indiana. He dropped out twice.

“The reason I left the first time was that I met a girl,” he said. “It was a wonderful relationship and we dated for about a year. I didn’t leave her because I didn’t love her. But I loved the priesthood more. So it was a really hard decision for me.”

The second time he left to join a monastery. Both experiences left him feeling emotionally healthier and stronger and more prepared to take on the life of a priest.

The eldest of five children, Fr. Kline graduated from the seminary in 1995. He spent time as an associate pastor at St. Daniel the Prophet in Scottsdale and Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Tempe before being appointed vocation director five years ago.

The job of vocation director can be burdensome, especially now with public scrutiny so high as a result of the priest sex-abuse scandal.

“I think he’s the right man for the job,” Don Kline said. “He’s very honest and upfront and sincere and very devout.”

And always ready with a smile and a joke.

“He is a terrific, fun guy. He’s a very funny man,” the elder Kline said. “(But) he’s very particular. He’s very thorough in the things he feels he should be thorough in. But in the things he doesn’t think are serious, he’s kind of slipshod. There’s a sense of balance there. We always tease him about his stupid haircut. He doesn’t place much value in that.”

Although he dreams of returning to parish work one day, Fr. Kline understands that the work he does as vocation director is critical to his beloved Church.

“I love the Church and I don’t want to see it destroyed,” he said. “I look at these guys and say, ‘Do I want this guy to be teaching my nephew or celebrating Mass with my niece?’ I have a vested interest in this."

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