In what he calls his past life, the Rev. Geoffrey Horton worked at a Bloomington-Normal insurance company, coached a women\u2019s softball team, owned a home and invested in a 401K.<\/p>\n
Although life was good, Horton, 43, felt something was missing. In May, he found his calling as a newly ordained Roman Catholic priest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI became a priest for the only reason anyone should ever become a priest, because I felt that\u2019s what God was asking of me,\u201d\u009d said Horton, currently assigned at a church in Peoria.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s Church in Pontiac.<\/p>\n
The two Central Illinois men aren\u2019t alone in making such monumental mid-life career changes.<\/p>\n