A member of the Fathers of Mercy religious order, Father Walling began discerning his vocation to the priesthood and religious life in high school, after which he spent two years with the Oblates of the Virgin Mary in Boston where love for the Sacred Liturgy took deep root.

Deciding to leave the seminary and enlist in the U.S. Navy in 1988, Postal Clerk Third Class Walling, on board the USS Comte De Grasse DD 974, welded seminary and military life together, remembering the saying: “pray while you work.” After the Navy, he became interested in Hospice Education at Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan.

However, the hospice endeavor never came to completion because Almighty God had different plans for his life. On August 15th, 1995, Br. Walling vowed the religious life with the Fathers of Mercy, and was ordained a priest on May 31st, 2001. He attended St. Philip Neri Seminary in Toronto where he received a B.A in Thomistic Thought and Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut, where he received an M.Div.

Fr. Walling served as associate pastor in two parishes for a combined five years and as a Parish Missions Preacher for three years. Fr. Walling enjoys ministry to the youth, jogging in parks, cooking, and making model boats.