Five men to be ordained began their road to the Catholic priesthood in another church. George Reynolds, of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was a Jehovah's Witness and Kyle Haden, of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, was a member of a Charismatic Evangelical Church. Several men studied for the priesthood after establishing careers in other fields. Timothy O'Malley, of the Chicago Archdiocese is both a certified public accountant and a lawyer. Steven Wertanen of the Detroit Archdiocese was art director at an advertising firm.
Educational backgrounds vary as well.
Daniel Leary, of the Washington Archdiocese, for example, is a graduate of Villanova University and Stephen Nash, also of the Washington Archdiocese, is a graduate of The Catholic University of America. Others graduated from non-religiously affiliated schools. The class of '97 includes Caucasians, Hispanics, Asians and African Americans, and reflects the racial and ethnic diversity of the Catholic Church in the United States in the Nineties. Most of the men are native-born Americans but several were born in Mexico, Vietnam, Poland, and Colombia. Others were born in Korea, Haiti, China, the Philippines, Ireland and Lebanon.