Ordination season is officially upon us, and with it, the excitement of brand-new priests ready to be unleashed for ministry. This year, we will watch as Deacons Ivan Alatorre and Alex Kouris are ordained to the priesthood on Saturday, June 7 at the Cathedral of the Holy Angels in Gary.
Seminarian William O’Donnell will be ordained as a transitional deacon in the same Mass.
Deacons Ivan and Alex – two of 405 men throughout the United States who will be ordained priests in 2025 – have just graduated from seminary and will embark upon their first assignments as priests. They are well-prepared for ministry to God’s people, but as you can imagine, there are some things that are not thoroughly taught in seminary, like finances, buildings management, human resources, parish vision-setting, etc. As a result, much of their learning will happen on-the-job. If either one of them happens to land in your parish, please receive them with open arms and allow them to flourish in their new identity as priests.
The summer is not only ordination season; it also gives our other seminarians, currently home from their studies, the opportunity to take part in pastoral assignments designed to help form and configure them to the person of Christ. While most of our men will be engaged in parish ministry, some will take part in other formative initiatives.
For example, one of our seminarians will spend the summer engaged in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), which is a hospital chaplaincy internship. Another student will be a Totus Tuus missionary, visiting a number of our parishes and animating our youth to grow in their love for our Lord. Still another seminarian will spend a few weeks in Tampa, Fla. with Christ in the City, an apostolate aimed at ministering to those experiencing homelessness. The rest of our seminarians will serve in parishes and will get a taste of parish life before returning to their studies in the fall.
In addition, we have two seminarians, Ryan Pierce and Gianni DiTola, who are preparing to depart for theological studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome (It has been 13 years since we last had a seminarian in Rome). Since their classes in Rome are conducted in the Italian language, Ryan and Gianni will study Italian this summer to prepare for their extended experience outside of the states.
It takes a village to support vocations, so please keep all of our seminarians in your prayers, and encourage young men in your parishes who have gifts that would make them great priests. God bless you this summer!
Father Edquist is the director of vocations for the Diocese of Gary. He also serves as pastor of Holy Family Parish in LaPorte.
