Calling from God has led Camarillo priest back home
By Eliav Appelbaum eliav@theacorn.com

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers HISTORIAN- Father Leon Hutton, a Camarillo resident, poses on the grounds of St. John's Seminary in Camarillo last week.

The Rev. Leon Hutton loves studying and teaching history.

So it only makes sense that the longtime Camarillo resident is the assistant professor of church history at St. John's Seminary in the town where he grew up.

"I love living in Camarillo," said Hutton, 54. "I like teaching here because the world has come here. It is a challenge to teach and do work here. We have a good group of men who are good people, and we're all here for a common purpose."

Hutton teaches an introductory class on church history from its beginnings to the year 1500 at the seminary, which has nearly finished construction on the remodeling of a dormitory. The project was funded by an anonymous donor's $200,000 contribution. According to Monsignor Craig Cox, the seminary's president, the dorm construction should be complete in a few weeks.

The seminary has also begun a drive to endow two professional chairs in honor of Cardinal William Levada and Cardinal Timothy Manning, the late archbishop of Los Angeles. Levada, who was on the faculty at St. John's from 1970 to 1976, currently serves as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican. Levada holds the same position Pope Benedict XVI held before he became pope.

"No American has ever served in such a critically important position in the Vatican," Cox said of Levada. "He taught me, and I never expected my professor to be . . . a cardinal serving in such an important place in Rome. None of us would have ever imagined that."

Hutton's primary field of study is the experience and history of Catholicism in America, from the formation of the California missions to Catholics arriving on Ellis Island. On Feb. 11, Hutton led an adult-education course at Padre Serra Church on the history of the American Catholic parish.

In 1963, when he was 10, Hutton moved to Camarillo from Lancaster. He attended Camarillo Heights Elementary School for one semester before transferring to St. Mary Magdalen Church. He graduated from Santa Clara High School in Oxnard in 1972.

Hutton thought briefly about entering the U.S. Air Force. He also considered being a lawyer or a history teacher.

Becoming a priest appealed to Hutton more than anything else, and he was inspired by his uncle Jack Quigley, a priest in Kansas.

"He cared about serving other people," Hutton said.

The reverend was also moved to a life serving God by Monsignor John Hughes and the Rev. Denis Falvey, both of whom served at St. Mary Magdalen.

After high school, Hutton studied at St. John's Seminary College, adjacent to the seminary. The college closed in 2001 because there weren't enough students.

Hutton was formally ordained as a priest in 1980. St. John's asked the former student if he'd be interested in becoming a church history professor at the seminary. Hutton obliged, earning his Ph.D. at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. The priest returned to St. John's in 1995 and has been a member of the faculty ever since.

Besides being a history professor, Hutton is also the director of Human Formation and Evaluations.

The seminary experience consists of four components: intellectual/academic, spiritual, pastoral and human formation.

"This is more than an academic institution," Hutton said. "We (stress) all four components: a well-balanced person with good intelligence, pastoral skills, depth in spirituality and human personality. . . . This is a school of discernment. 'Is God calling me to be a priest? Is this something I can do and wish to embrace?' It takes a lot of work from the students."

For the first time in 20 years, and for third time in his life, Hutton is going to visit Rome and other cities in Italy after Easter. But it's not a business trip.

"When I go to the Vatican, I'll go on a tour just like everyone else," he said.