Br. Nathaniel May was born in Topeka, Kansas in 1999, but grew up all over the USA, including in Hawaii and North Carolina. After his father retired from the military, the family moved to the area outside Louisville, Kentucky where Br. Nathaniel completed his senior year of high school, graduating from the Mother of Divine Grace Homeschool program in 2017. In 2021, Br. Nathaniel graduated from Thomas Aquinas College (CA) with a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts, and began working in The Bronx, NY as a missionary and assistant teacher. In 2023, he entered the novitiate of Our Lady of Dallas, and took temporary vows on August 18, 2024.

While growing up, Br. Nathaniel’s twin brother, Anthony, always wanted to be a priest. Br. Nathaniel, however, only began considering the monastic vocation during college when he visited Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky. He began to discern very seriously in January of 2022. While he was initially interested in the Trappist lifestyle at Gethsemani, he came to Our Lady of Dallas, after discerning that God was calling him to teach and pursue higher learning in a young and thriving community.

Br. Nathaniel is the oldest of ten siblings, and enjoys reading, watching movies, and playing board games.