Israel Buffardi, M.Div. ’19, walked a long and winding path before finding his calling.
The Rhode Island native was raised Catholic and from an early age felt a strong draw to spirituality and ritual. At age 14, he decided he wanted to become a priest. This plan changed when he realized he was queer. Coming out precipitated many questions about his faith, such as the acceptance and inclusion of LGBTQ people.
“I felt like I had a deep calling within myself, but it suddenly became inaccessible to me because of who I was and what was important to me,” he said.
During his struggle over faith and spirituality, Buffardi took the first name Israel, a figure in the Old Testament who represents “the one who wrestled with God.”