by Joe Bollig
joe.bollig@theleaven.org
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Most of the attention, rightly so, was focused on the three young men being ordained to the transitional diaconate at the Cathedral of St. Peter here on May 18.
This was an important step toward priestly ordination a year from now, God willing, for Deacons Will Carey, Cesar Gomez and Dan Mauro.
But Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann made sure to thank those who ultimately made it possible: their parents.
“I’m particularly grateful to the parents of Will, Cesar and Dan. Thank you Richard and Laura [Carey], Rafael [Gomez Vargas] and Bertha [Cervantes Vargas] and Frank and Christy [Mauro],” said the archbishop. “Thank you for allowing God to use your love to give life to Will, Cesar and Dan. Thank you for all the love and support you’ve given to them over many years.”
The archbishop added his own, highly personal connection to the ordination Mass that drove home the important role of parents in the life of a cleric.
“Just as a side note today, I’ll use my personal chalice . . . one that I have recycled,” he said. “It belonged to a priest in St. Louis. My family added a cross to the base of the chalice, and in that cross are diamonds from my mother’s engagement ring. It’s always a good reminder to me that my vocation as a deacon, a priest and now a bishop really is the fruit of my parents’ vocation of Christian marriage.”
The Election of the Candidates took place after the Gospel. The three men were called forward to stand before the archbishop and announce they were present. Vocation director Father Dan Morris, speaking on behalf the church, asked for their ordination and testified they had been found worthy. There was loud applause after the archbishop accepted them.
After the homily, the three men came forward as a group to stand before the archbishop and promise to fulfill the ministry of deacon. Next, each man went forward to kneel before the archbishop and promise obedience to him and his successors.
The three men again lay prostate for the Litany of Supplication, and afterward came individually to the archbishop for ordination by the laying on of hands.
Next, the deacons were vested and then each went forward to the archbishop to receive the Book of the Gospels. Archbishop Naumann commanded them to “believe what you read, teach what you believe and practice what you teach.”
After this, the three deacons received the fraternal greeting of other deacons. They joined the other clerics at the altar for the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
Present for the ordination were several seminarians serving as acolytes, several priests of the archdiocese and visiting priests as concelebrants, and then-Deacon Aaron Waldeck, who was ordained a priest by Archbishop Naumann on May 25 at the cathedral.
In his homily, Archbishop Naumann thanked those who helped educate and form the three deacons. They include Abbot Benedict Neenan, OSB, of Conception Abbey in Conception, Missouri, and associate professor of theology; Father Xavier Nacke, OSB, assistant professor of theology and spiritual director of Conception Seminary College; Father Paul Hoesing, rector of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis; and Father Charles Samson, assistant professor of biblical theology at Kenrick-Glennon.
The archbishop also thanked Father Dan Morris; Father Scott Wallisch, archdiocesan co-director of seminarians; and Msgr. Michael Mullen, emeritus director of seminarians.
Deacon Carey was vested by Father William Porter, retired; Deacon Gomez was vested by Father Xavier; and Deacon Mauro was vested by Father Nicholas Ashmore, pastor of St. Catherine Parish in Emporia and chaplain/director of the Didde Catholic Campus Center at Emporia State University.
Following ordination, each of the three men will serve in pastoral ministry in archdiocesan parishes. Deacon Carey will serve at Most Pure Heart of Mary Parish in Topeka; Deacon Gomez will serve at St. Catherine Parish in Emporia; and Deacon Carey will serve at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Topeka. At the end of summer, each of them will return for further studies and/or pastoral ministry at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.
