Three diocesan seminarians were ordained to the transitional diaconate on Saturday, March 14 during a Mass at Columbus St. Joseph Cathedral celebrated by Bishop Earl K. Fernandes.
Deacons Shane Gerrity, Kennedy Ofezu and Anthony Whalen made a step toward being ordained priests, expected in spring 2027, through their ordination to the Order of the Diaconate on Saturday.
Whalen is studying at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, and Gerrity and Ofezu are studying at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and School of Theology in Cincinnati. The men will return to their respective seminaries for a final year of study.
The Rite of Ordination began with the election of the candidates. The men were presented to Bishop Fernandes, who formally elected, or chose, them for the Order of the Diaconate. They were called by name and stood before the bishop.
The ministry of a deacon is threefold: service of the Gospel (kerygma), liturgy (liturgia) and works of charity (diakonia).
The men will announce the kerygma – a Greek word meaning “proclamation” – by sharing the Good News, or Gospel.
Following the 12 Apostles, who provided an example of prayer – the liturgia – men as deacons assist at Mass and celebrate the sacraments of baptism and matrimony. They also commit to praying the Liturgy of the Hours, the prayer of the Church recited at set times daily.
Through a service of charity, known as the diakonia, deacons bear witness to Christ.
The Mass included an examination of the candidates as part of the ordination rite. The men were questioned about their resolve to undertake and faithfully fulfill diaconal ministry.
The bishop examined the men’s willingness to serve the Church in union with Christ. The candidates responded, “I do” to a series of questions.
The three then knelt before the bishop and promised respect and obedience to him and his successors.
The men also made a vow of perpetual celibacy. A promise of celibacy is permanent for transitional deacons who are preparing to be ordained as priests. Permanent deacons who serve in parishes, however, can be married before ordination.
The Litany of Supplication to the saints was chanted by the congregation while the elect prostrated themselves on the cathedral floor. Each candidate then knelt before Bishop Fernandes, who laid his hands on their heads, invoking the Holy Spirit.
The invocation of the Holy Spirit during the imposition of hands is an ancient apostolic gesture. The gesture signifies conferral of the Holy Spirit by which men are ordained to service in the sacrament of Holy Orders. The prayer of ordination by the bishop completes the act of ordination.
The newly ordained were then vested with a dalmatic, a vestment proper to deacons, and a stole, which comes from the Latin word “stola,” meaning “garment.”
The stole is a scarf-like garment that rests on a deacon’s left shoulder and extends across his chest. It is a sign of a deacon’s office of service.
Deacon Zack Goodchild and Deacon Bryan Ilagor vested Deacon Gerrity; Deacon Wynand Ssenkusu and Deacon Jacob Schmiesing vested Deacon Ofezu; and Archbishop Broglio and Fr. Kevin Girardi vested Deacon Whalen.
The new deacons also received the Book of the Gospels. The gesture symbolizes a deacon’s responsibility to proclaim the Word of God.
The Rite of Ordination concluded with a fraternal kiss of peace.
A greeting from the bishop to the new deacons is a sign that they are co-workers in the ministry of the Church. Deacons in attendance came forward to extend a greeting to the newly ordained.
Gerrity, 28, from Columbus St. Patrick Church, was homeschooled through high school, graduating in 2015. He entered seminary in 2018 at the Josephinum, earning a degree in philosophy and humanities four years later. He is completing a master’s degree at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and School of Theology.
Gerrity’s seminary assignments included Chillicothe Our Lady Queen of the Apostles parish, Newark St. Francis de Sales Church and prison ministry. He also served at Mary Magdalen House in Cincinnati, providing clothing to the homeless; Catholic Youth Summer Camp, the flagship program of Damascus Catholic Mission Campus in Knox County; and the Mid-Ohio Food Collective.
Gerrity participated in a spirituality year in Philadelphia, which included door-to-door evangelization; a 30-day silent retreat; World Youth Day 2023; and served at the Quo Vadis discernment program at the Josephinum for high school students.
Ofezu, 34, from St. Joseph Cathedral, is a native of Uganda. He came to the United States in 2023.
The recently-ordained deacon is the third of eight children. His parents and siblings reside in Uganda, where Ofezu grew up farming.
He studied at Sts. Peter and Paul Seminary in Pokea, Ayivu, Uganda, and Uganda Martyrs’ National Major Seminary in Alokolum, Uganda, which is affiliated with the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome. Ofezu taught religious education at a primary school while studying at Uganda Martyrs’ National Major Seminary.
He completed a pastoral year at St. Peter Claver parish in the Diocese of Arua, Uganda, and later studied at The Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi, Kenya.
In the United States, Ofezu’s seminary assignments included Columbus St. Mary in the German Village neighborhood and Washington Court House St. Colman of Cloyne churches.
He has served in religious education at Columbus St. Cecilia School, volunteered at a soup kitchen and participated in apostolic ministry at Mercy Health-Anderson Hospital in Cincinnati. He was also active in the Ohio March for Life.
Whalen, 47, belongs to St. Joseph Cathedral. The newly-ordained deacon is a Columbus native and moved with his family to Texas in 1990 at age 12. He graduated from Trinity High School in Euless, Texas.
Whalen obtained degrees from Mid-America College of Funeral Service in funeral service management and Dallas Institute of Funeral Service in mortuary science. He also holds a master’s in theology from St. Joseph’s College of Maine in Standish, Maine.
Prior to entering seminary, Whalen held jobs as a funeral director, a funeral service representative and operations specialist at the Arlington National Cemetery, director of Navy Cemeteries and director of Memorial Affairs for the U.S. Naval Academy, and in the U.S. Air Force.
He began studies for the priesthood at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore before transferring to the Columbus diocese and completing formation at the Josephinum.