Those to be ordained

Zenit has a couple of articles (here and here) about men who are being ordained to the Priesthood in the United States this year.

The largest ordination class, Zenit reports, belongs to the Archdiocese of Newark, for which 18 men are to be ordained.

The Archdiocese of Washington has 12 ordinands, the Archdiocese of Denver, 11 ; and the Diocese of Rockford, Illinois, 10. In Salt Lake City, Utah, where Catholics make up 8% of the population, there are four to be ordained.

"(T)wins, James and Joseph Campbell, 26, the youngest of a family of 13 children, will be ordained for the Diocese of Erie, Pennsylvania, with their classmate Marc Solomon. James studied at St. Vincent Seminary, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and Joseph at (the Pontifical) North American College, Rome.

"Some ordinands are in their mid-20s, such as John Paul Erickson, 26, of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and Jason Vidrine, 24, of the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana.

"Others are much more senior, such as John Dant, 66, of the Archdiocese of Louisville, who was a vice president for air operations for United Parcel Services, and Thomas Bartolomeo, 69, of the Diocese of Rockford, Illinois, whose career included work as a business owner, educator and candidate for political office.


"A few have come into the Catholic Church from other religions. Steven Rogers, 49, of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri, grew up a Southern Baptist."

"A few were in the ministry. Jeffrey Hopper, 48, of the Louisville Archdiocese, was an Episcopal priest. Leonard Klein, 60, of the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware, who is married, is being ordained a priest after 30 years in the Lutheran ministry.

"Family relationships influenced some. David Axtmann, 61, of the Diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has a son who already is a priest. Joseph Pins, of the Diocese of Des Moines, Iowa, sensed a call to the priesthood when he attended his father's ordination to the diaconate.


"The newly ordained span a number of previous careers.

"Dr. James Duffy, 39, who will be ordained for the Society of Jesus, is board certified in internal medicine and still practicing medicine.

"Steve Roberts, 44, who will be ordained for the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky, is an obstetrician/gynecologist. William Dunn, 62, of the Archdiocese of Boston, practiced internal medicine and was on the full-time faculty of two medical schools.

"Michael Barry, 61, Diocese of Rockford, Illinois, was a U.S. Foreign Service officer for 24 years.

"Brian Needles, 51, of the Archdiocese of Newark, was a real estate developer. Allain Caparas, 30, of the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, was a high school teacher.

"Raymond Enzweiler, 44, of the Diocese of Covington, Kentucky, taught university-level physics for 14 years.


"Christopher Coleman, 38, of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, was a chemical sales representative. Leo Smith, 52, of Diocese of Venice, Florida, worked for the U.S. Department of Defense for 25 years.

"Anthony DiMarco, 49, of the Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut, was a Pennsylvania State Parole Agent and passed the Pennsylvania Bar while in the seminary.

"Kenneth Brown, 56, of the Diocese of Monterey, California, was an associate professor of English for 26 years, and retired from the California State University system. Gregory Olszewski, 45, of the Diocese of Cleveland, was a reporter at a weekly newspaper. John Schwall, 57, of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, Utah, worked in the casino industry for 20 years.

"Several have military experience. William Hegedusich, 46, of the Washington Archdiocese, is a retired Air Force officer, who flew as a navigator. Darin Colarusso, 40, of the Archdiocese of Boston, was in the Air Force and flew fighter jets as a weapons officer.


"A variety of ethnic and national backgrounds marks the class.

"Jesús Gaviria, 33, of the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey, is Hispanic. Maynard Ubaldo Paragan, 46, of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Texas, is Filipino.

"Hieu Nguyen, 35, to be ordained for the Society of the Divine Word, is from Vietnam. Slawomir Bystrzykowski, 31, of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was born in Poland.

"Involvement in parish was important. One parish, Our Lady of Lourdes, in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Archdiocese, has three men being ordained this year: Avelino Gonzalez, 41; Andrew Royals, 27; and Greg Shaffer, 34.

"Some ordinands are parents. Stephen Geer, 51, of the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, is a certified public accountant and a single parent who raised an adoptive son from the age of 3. Charles Huck, 51, of the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota, has seven children and eight grandchildren."

Ad multos annos