The Rev. Michael Kesicki, rector of St. Mark, said the Campbell twins come from a "very solid, committed Catholic family."
The twins also know about the importance of hard work, kindness, courtesy and commitment, Kesicki said.
"They've got a lot of good inner strength," he said.
As boys, Joseph Campbell, left, and James Campbell, right, assisted the priest they were named for, Monsignor James Joseph Gannon. The 26-year-old Erie twins will be ordained priests tonight.
From St. Mark, James Campbell went on to St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, while Joseph Campbell left for North American College in Rome. That decision was made by Erie Catholic Bishop Donald W. Trautman, who decides which major seminaries men go to and where they serve after that. James Campbell said the twins embraced the decision to separate them as God's will. He said some people ask him why his brother got to go to Rome while he had to stay in Pennsylvania. "What they failed to recognize," James Campbell said, "is Jesus is present in both places." The brothers will learn this afternoon where they will serve as parochial vicars, the priests who assist pastors. Trautman will make the official announcement tonight, and the new priests will go to their assignments next week.