Did Michael Steele Pad his Resume?

According the the Baltimore Sun:

As far back as high school, Steele had considered the priesthood. In the fall of 1981, he entered what is called a "pre-novitiate" program of the Order of St. Augustine at Villanova University, an academic year of study in philosophy and other subjects.

On completing his year, Steele was accepted as a novice at the Augustinian novitiate house in Lawrence, Mass., according to the Rev. John R. Flynn, secretary of the Augustinian Province of St. Thomas of Villanova.

Augustinian novices spend a year living in community, learning the history of the order and discerning whether they are called to the vowed life.

"Michael was a very bright, articulate man who I would say gave himself very sincerely to the whole process of discernment," says the Rev. Francis J. Doyle, then the novitiate director at Lawrence and Steele's spiritual director.

Steele left Lawrence after six months, Flynn said. Steele told The Sun in 2002 that he had entered the program to prove to himself that he shouldn't become a priest. Ultimately, he said, the choice was simple.

"It came down to, 'Am I called to serve the people of God as a priest or in a business suit?'" he said.

Biographies on the official Web site of the lieutenant governor and Steele's campaign Web site say that he spent three years as a seminarian.