New Seminarian for the Year

Bro. Von Erick M. Sandoval, O.Carm. is a Simply Professed Carmelite Friar from the Province of St. Elias located in Middletown, New York. He is 24 years old and was born in the Philippines in 1995. His family consist of his father, Max, his mother, Bing, and his two sisters, Fatima (21) and Michelle (16). They also have a dog named Bambino. His parents and Michelle are currently living in Indiana, while Fatima is in graduate school at Iona College in New Rochelle, New York. In 2015, he entered the Carmelite pre-novitiate program and graduated from Seton Hall University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in Catholic Studies with a minor in philosophy. He entered the Carmelite novitiate and received the habit in the fall 2017, and professed Simple Vows in summer 2018. During his novitiate year, he was active at Burke Catholic High School in Goshen, NY, Our Lady of Mt Carmel School in Middletown, NY, coordinator for Fil- Am Catholic Community of Hudson Valley, and worked at National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Middletown, NY. Following his novitiate, he was assigned to a year of theological studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington DC, residing at Whitefriars Hall. During that year, he was involved in St. Columba’s Catholic Church in Oxon Hill, MD. From August 2019- August 2020, he served his pastoral year at St. Simon Stock- St. Joseph Parish in the Bronx. During his pastoral/internship year, he gained a knowledge in the Spanish culture as well as participated in the life of the parish. He taught 2nd Year Confirmation, coordinator of altar servers, youth group minister, and was active in student life of the students at St. Simon Stock School. In the summer of 2020, he completed his Clinical Pastoral Education at Terrance Cardinal Cooke Center ArchCare in Manhattan. Bro. Von currently resides at Whitefriars Hall in Washington DC while studying at The Catholic University of America. He hopes to be an ordained Catholic priest one day and serve at a high school through campus ministry or teaching. Some of Bro. Von’s hobbies include reading, traveling, and volunteering.