LOCKPORT — It’s never too late.

Not long after graduating from Canisius College in 1996, James Waite decided to hold off on his boyhood dream of becoming a priest.

“I went to Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora for a semester, and then decided I needed to give the idea of priesthood a rest,” recalls the Rev. James Waite, St. John the Baptist pastor.

“I wanted to see what else I might do in my life, so I moved to California and went to school for graphic design. I had a great time serving on the faculty of Platt College. The school hired me to teach general education courses.”

There in balmy Newport Beach, he went on to serve as chairman of Platt’s graphic design and general education departments.

While in California, “a friend from Buffalo came to visit, and our conversation turned to my interest in the priesthood,” Waite said. “I showed my friend the nice car I had, the nice income, the nice California weather, but somehow it all seemed hollow to me at that point. I knew in my heart that God still wanted me to be a priest.”

His “calling,” he said, started when he was 10 years old, after his grandfather, Lawrence Atherton, passed away.

“My grandfather was kind of a hero to me because he could fix anything and was very wise,” Waite said. “When he died, I remember attending his funeral and thinking, ‘I wonder if he accomplished what he had hoped to in this life.’ I began thinking about what kind of difference I could make in my own life and reasoned that being a priest would be a great way to serve God and others.”

He continued thinking about the priesthood while a student at the Town of Tonawanda’s St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute, where he graduated in 1992.

While at Canisius, Waite was in a pretheology program run by the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo at the former John Paul II Residence.

After his version of “California Dreamin’,” Waite, in a leap of faith, phoned the Diocese of Buffalo Vocations Office “and asked if I could resume my ‘formation’ towards priesthood,” he said. “I was re-accepted at the seminary and reconnected to my beloved Western New York.”

Not that those years in graphic design were wasted.

“In my career as a priest, I’ve always promoted technology as a way to evangelize,” said Waite, who was ordained in 2004.

“When the position of pastor for St. John the Baptist was announced, parishioners said they were looking for several qualities in a pastor—someone with energy and fresh ideas, a priest who can preach well and a priest who could bring the parish into the 21st century. Those are still the goals I have for myself in shepherding the parish.”

St. John’s looks very much at home in the 21st century, with it’s modern architecture. Yet the parish is very much rooted to the teachings of Jesus.

“One of the things that makes us the most proud as a parish is St. John’s Outreach Center,” Waite said. “[In 2008], Outreach provided Thanksgiving meals for 760 families. At Christmas, we gave out 1,015 food baskets and 5,500 Christmas gifts.”

The number of the recent holiday gifts was still being tallied at this writing, but they believe they donated at least 6,500 gifts to needy families.

“Sister Helen’s Food Pantry provided 175,000 meals last year,” Waite said. “Our Clothing Center and furniture and appliance assistance helps more than 3,500 people monthly.”

Waite also said, “Teaching is still a great love of mine.” In the past year, he’s served as an adjunct lecturer for Christ the King Seminary in the school’s continuing education department.

Then there was the lesson of the diocese restructuring not long ago. Everything changes, but it’s possible to begin anew, just as Waite was able to do several years back.

“We merged with St. Mary’s of Gasport in the Diocese’s Journey in Faith and Grace,” said Waite, who pastors to the oldest Catholic parish in the county. “Many wonderful families from Gasport have become active members of our community.”

A pieta and statue of Mary from the Gasport church now grace the St. John’s grounds, “as a reminder of our unity,” he said.

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