Ordination Mass
10 a.m., Saturday, May 31
The Cathedral of St. Paul
10 a.m., May 31 at the Cathedral of St. Paul. Photo courtesy of St. Paul Seminary
Archdiocese to welcome six men to the priesthood May 31
Archbishop John Nienstedt will ordain six men to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis at 10 a.m. May 31 at the Cathedral of St. Paul.
They are: Marc Paveglio, Joseph Kuharski, Marcus Milless, Paul Shovelain, Kevin Manthey and Michael Barsness. (Read more about them below.)
The men to be ordained priests range in age from 25 to 29. Five of the six are native Minnesotans.
This year, the theme at The St. Paul Seminary has been, “Be calm, be of good cheer, fan the flame.”
“Our new priests leave The Saint Paul Seminary with an ardent desire to evangelize,” said Msgr. Aloysius Callaghan, rector. “In their years of formation they have engaged in creative initiatives including an organized ‘Evangelization in Action’ program in local parishes.
“They now take these words to heart as they go forth to serve God’s people,” he said.
The ordination will be streamed live online; visit the ordination event page on the archdiocesan website. It will also re-air at 1 p.m. May 31 and 1 p.m. on all Sundays in June on Metro Cable Network/Cable Channel 6 (check with your local cable provider to confirm dates and times).
Across the country
Nationally, according to a survey by the Georgetown University-based Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, the median age of the 2014 ordination class is 32. Eight in 10 are between 25 and 39. The distribution is slightly younger than last year, but follows the pattern in recent years of average age at ordination in the mid-30s. Five men are being ordained to the priesthood after age 60, including one 70-year-old.
Catholic education stands out as a strong factor in the background of the new priests, with half having attended a Catholic elementary school, 41 percent a Catholic high school and 45 percent, a Catholic college, the survey found.
Three out of 10 of the new priests were born outside the U.S., with the largest numbers from Mexico, Vietnam, Colombia, Poland and the Philippines.
The survey also found that ordinands on average report that they were about 17 when they first considered a vocation to the priesthood. Seven in 10 (71 percent) say they were encouraged by a parish priest.
