Editor’s Note: The following commentary was written by Jack Figge, a student journalist who has written for the Register since 2023 and is now embarking on a new vocational journey. (Listen to the related episode of Register Radio here.)

Seven years is a long time, especially when you have only been alive for 22 years. 

It’s roughly a third of my life. 

But that’s how long I have been working in journalism, first as a reporter and editor-in-chief of my weekly high-school newspaper, then for local diocesan papers, and most recently for national Catholic publications like the Register. 

This means that the most formative years of my life, high school and college, were spent traveling across the world, interviewing laypeople, priests and bishops, and writing about the Church. 

And what a gift it has been. 

As I prepare to take a big step in a different direction, I can see how God has used my time as a Catholic journalist to teach me many crucial lessons. The most important one has been to recognize that you can only know a person’s full story through real relationship — and by not settling for simple summaries.

Quickly into this job, I found that the great temptation of writing and reading the news is to believe that what matters about a person is limited to that which is fit for print and that there is nothing else to be told. 

It’s the easiest thing to believe, but the hardest mindset to overcome. 

Fortunately, reporting in the field, interviewing Catholics, and being inspired by their lives has helped me see that there’s always more to someone’s story. Three stories — two that I wrote for the Register and one that I was actually a part of — highlight this lesson and have left a tremendous impact on my life. 

Captivated by Community

The first story fell into my lap — a Register editor assigned me to write a feature on Brother Andre’s Café in Pittsburgh, two coffee shops housed in parish basements that employ adults with disabilities. 

Heading into the assignment, it seemed like a simple write-up, the kind where you think you know the story before even picking up the phone to conduct your first interview.

But instead, I became captivated by a vibrant Catholic community, dedicated to caring for adults with disabilities and witnessing to the power of simple love. 

For the article, I interviewed Patrick Fitzgerald, his parents Mike and Terri, and their pastor, Father Chris Donley. 

Patrick has autism and had struggled to find meaningful work. His parents, along with Father Donley, in 2020 opened Brother André’s Café, a place where the dignity of all is celebrated (and where they make some of the best cookies). 

Interviewing Father Donley and the Fitzgeralds taught me so much about the Christian life and the call to serve and love all people. 

As I reflect on this story, I can see how it has inspired me to be more generous in my daily life, to be more passionate about caring for vulnerable populations, and to think outside of the box in my evangelization efforts. 

But most importantly, it reminded me of the beauty, sanctity and dignity of all human life and that everybody has a beautiful story, no matter their struggles. 

More to the Story

Then there was a much more personal story, one that hit close to home but spread across the internet: the story of my friend Alex Lynch. 

Alex, a 23-year-old senior, died a week before we graduated from Benedictine College. It was a heart-wrenching yet beautiful two weeks where the Lord worked in our lives. 

But it was also weird. 

I watched as a variety of Catholic news sites picked up Alex’s story and various Catholic influencers reposted photos or tidbits from his life. It was strange to be on the other side of the story. 

In other cases, I was the one deciding which facts to include in a story, offering only a glimpse into the realities and lives of the subjects I covered. Now, I watched as the world learned a small fraction of the life of my close friend, this saintly man who helped shape me into who I am today. 

That realization made me grateful for my friendship with Alex. But it also forced me to contemplate the countless interviews I had conducted and realize that there is so much more to a person’s story than what is communicated in a 30-minute interview or written on a page. 

Through this experience, I realized that while the adrenaline rush of writing a great news story can be thrilling, it will never beat true authentic friendships, where heart shares with heart. 

Becoming Part of the Story

Finally, there’s the story that I wrote several years ago, right at the outset of my work with the Register, about the St. Clare of Assisi youth group in Ballwin, Missouri. The story was personal for me at the time and is even more so today.

St. Clare was my high-school youth group. It’s also become a vocations powerhouse. Peers from my time in youth group have gotten married, entered religious life, and pursued the priesthood, including six friends who have entered diocesan seminary. 

When I wrote that article, I thought it would be an easy, fun story. I would get to reconnect with my old priest and youth minister and talk to some high-school friends. 

And it was exactly that — so much so that I forgot that I had written the story until I scrolled through my archives a few days ago. 

But God has a funny sense of humor. 

Because when I interviewed these men who had been my classmates in high school and were now pursuing the priesthood, I remember a question surfaced in the back of my mind — what if God is calling me to be here, in seminary, with them? 

It was not the first time I asked that question; it wouldn’t be the last. But I brushed it to the side. 

Until last summer. 

Now, I am part of that story, as I prepare to begin seminary in a few weeks. It means saying a bittersweet goodbye to newswriting, which has been such an integral part of my life for the past seven years. 

Going Deeper

But there’s peace there, as the Lord brought me to the recognition that while telling people’s stories through journalism might be thrilling, glamorous and exciting, it’s a mere sampling of the person on the other side of the tape recorder. There is always the invitation to go deeper and to form real relationships.  

What I have come to love about reporting — meeting new people, learning about communities and the Church — will still be present in the next stage; it will just look different. 

Relationships are a gift. From my newfound friendship with the Fitzgeralds, to my great friend Alex, to my youth-group peers who have been supporting me along my discernment journey, God has used connections with others to guide and inspire me to pursue a deeper relationship with Him. 

And that is the greatest relationship: the one we share with Christ, whose story continues to unfold in each of our hearts. 

During my time as a journalist, the Lord has blessed me in many ways. But my newswriting career is also only a fraction of my own story, which is still being written. And I can’t wait to see what He has in store for me next.

Please pray for me and know of my prayers for you.