Statistics show that more men are entering the priesthood later in life — and now a paper in Illinois is taking a closer look at this phenomenon:

In what he calls his past life, the Rev. Geoffrey Horton worked at a Bloomington-Normal insurance company, coached a women’s softball team, owned a home and invested in a 401K.

Although life was good, Horton, 43, felt something was missing. In May, he found his calling as a newly ordained Roman Catholic priest.

“I became a priest for the only reason anyone should ever become a priest, because I felt that’s what God was asking of me,” said Horton, currently assigned at a church in Peoria.

The Rev. Michael Bies heard the same call, but before he did, he worked 20 years as a machinist in his native Chicago and even considered marriage. Ordained about four years ago, Bies, 52, is associate pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Pontiac.

The two Central Illinois men aren’t alone in making such monumental mid-life career changes.

Paul Sullins, a professor at the Catholic University of America, said the average age at ordination has risen by 10 to 15 years since the 1970s — part of a national trend toward increased education and later-life commitments.

“An increasing proportion of priests today are entering their second or third careers,” said Sullins, adding the trend may help relieve the shortage of priests in the U.S.

Monsignor Paul Showalter, vicar general of the Peoria Diocese, agreed. Showalter said, in general, the trend toward older priests is beneficial.

It all comes down to “when they get the calling,” he said.

Horton and Bies both agreed their life experience can help them be better priests.

Bies, for instance, can identify first-hand with parishioners who are out of work because he was without a job several times as a machinist.

Horton, likewise, hopes his experience in the corporate world gives him more empathy for parishioners stressed out by everyday business life.

Horton is unique in another way, having been an Episcopalian until he was 36.

The switch in religions together with his mid-life career switch doesn’t bother Horton’s mother, Johanna Horton of Jacksonville. “It seems right,” she said, adding her son has always had deep religious feelings.

However, there can be aspects of the mid-life switch that aren’t easy.

Hardest for Bies was giving up some of his independence. As a priest, he’s bound to his parish and that “takes a bit of getting used to,” he said.

Knowing that “God is using you to bring solace and peace,” helps him cope, he said.

The celibacy requirement is actually a gift, said Bies, because it “frees you up to see all people as part of your family.”

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Photo: Fr. Michael Bies by Steve Smedley/The Pantagraph