Five ordained as priests for diocese

Bishop Earl Fernandes ordained five men to the priesthood during a Mass at Columbus St. Andrew Church on Saturday, May 18.

Fathers Tyler Carter, Daniel Colby, Jason Fox, Michael Haemmerle and David Johnstone received the Sacrament of Holy Orders in a packed church with standing room only.

 Ordination to the priesthood, formally known as Order of Presbyter, is one of three levels of ordination in the Sacrament of Holy Orders. The first is ordination to the Order of Diaconate, when a man is ordained a deacon. There is also ordination to the Order of Episcopate, when a priest is ordained a bishop.

The five newly ordained make up the largest class of seminarians for the diocese since 2018.

Fathers Carter, Colby, Haemmerle and Johnstone studied at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, and Father Fox studied at Pope St. John XXIII Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts, which is for men studying to become a priest at an older age.

Bishop Fernandes was assisted in celebrating the ordination Mass by priests from across the diocese as well as Bishop Emeritus James Griffin, who will celebrate his 90th birthday next month; Bishop Emeritus Frederick Campbell; Father Steven Beseau, the rector-president of the Josephinum; and Father Brian Kiely, the rector of Pope St. John XXIII Seminary.

After the Liturgy of the Word during the Mass, the Rite of Ordination began with the presentation and election of the candidates. 

Father William Hahn, the diocesan vocations director, testified to the bishop that the five candidates had been found worthy to be ordained as priests. The men were then elected, or chosen, by the bishop for the sacred order of the priesthood.

In his homily, Bishop Fernandes reflected on the power of the Holy Spirit, as the ordination was celebrated on the eve of Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost, which celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and the Blessed Mother, the birthday of the Church, is observed 50 days after Christ’s Resurrection.

The bishop noted that he, too, was ordained a priest on May 18, which was also the eve of Pentecost 22 years ago. He reminded the candidates that the Apostles were transformed by the fire of God’s love, the fire that is the Holy Spirit, on Pentecost, and the Church needs priests with that same fire.

“These are the men, the priests the Church needs today: men who are on fire – the fire of the Holy Spirit,” Bishop Fernandes said. 

“The fire of the Holy Spirit purifies our souls and purifies the souls of others … the fire, which is relentless in purifying society of its evils, a society which does not welcome the unborn, the disabled, the elderly … that discriminates against people because of the color of their skin.

“A society that says to the poor, ‘You are not welcome here’ is a society that needs be burned to the ground by the power of the Holy Spirit, and by the same power, a new civilization of love must be forged. This is the power that God gives us.”

Bishop Fernandes shared that he realized as a young priest the power of God to heal, save and make whole.

“To be a priest is to be willing to serve, to serve Jesus Christ and His people so wounded by sin, so broken, so in need of healing,” he said.

The bishop’s homily was followed by the examination of the elect. Bishop Fernandes questioned the candidates about their resolve to undertake and faithfully fulfill the ministry to which they were about to be ordained, as well as their willingness to unite themselves more closely to Christ, the High Priest.

The five candidates then knelt before Bishop Fernandes. They promised to respect and obey the bishop and his successors.

The congregation then joined in the litany of supplication. While the five candidates prostrated themselves on the floor of the church, the congregation implored God’s mercy and invoked the intercession of the saints.

The litany was followed by the laying on of hands and prayer of ordination.

Placing his hands on the head of each candidate, which is an ancient apostolic gesture of ordination, Bishop Fernandes invoked the Holy Spirit. Priests in attendance came forward and imposed their hands on each ordinand’s head.

During the prayer of ordination, the bishop beseeched God to raise each ordinand to the priesthood. Through the imposition of hands and prayer of ordination, the five men were ordained priests.

Several priests came forward to help vest the newly ordained.

The newly ordained priests were invested, or dressed, in stole and chasuble. The stole is a sign of the office of the priesthood, and the chasuble is the vestment worn for the celebration of Mass.

Bishop Fernandes anointed the ordinands’ hands with sacred chrism oil. The gesture signifies their sharing in Christ’s sanctifying ministry.

The bishop also extended a greeting of peace to the new priests as a sign that they are co-workers in the ministry of the Church. Other bishops and priests in attendance also came forward to extend a fraternal kiss of peace to the newly ordained.

Father Carter, 27, is from Columbus St. Patrick Church. His assignments during seminary included Newark St. Francis de Sales, Columbus St. Joseph Cathedral, Mount Vernon St. Vincent de Paul, Danville St. Luke, Gahanna St. Matthew the Apostle Church, Groveport St. Mary and Canal Winchester St. John XXIII churches.

Deacon Colby, 33, is from Columbus Immaculate Conception Church. His assignments during seminary included Zanesville St. Thomas Aquinas, Columbus St. Mary Magdalene, Columbus St. Aloysius, Columbus St. Agnes, Marion St. Mary, Cardington Sacred Hearts, Mount Vernon St. Paul, Danville St. Luke and Delaware St. Mary while also participating in a summer Hispanic ministry immersion.

Deacon Fox, 50, is from Powell St. Joan of Arc Church. He served in assignments at Scioto Catholic in the Portsmouth area, Westerville St. Paul the Apostle, Columbus Christ the King and St. Veronica Parish in Burlington, Massachusetts.

Father Haemmerle, 29, is from Columbus St. Patrick Church. His assignments included Columbus St. Andrew, Columbus Holy Family, Chillicothe St. Peter, Hilliard St. Brendan the Navigator, Perry County Consortium and Zanesville St. Nicholas and St. Thomas Aquinas churches.

Deacon Johnstone, 38, is from Marysville Our Lady of Lourdes Church. His assignments included Westerville St. Paul the Apostle, Mount Vernon St. Vincent de Paul, Danville St. Luke, Wheelersburg St. Peter in Chains, Portsmouth St. Mary of the Annunciation, Holy Trinity and Holy Redeemer, the former New Boston St. Monica, Basilica of Regina Pacis in Brooklyn, New York, Chillicothe St. Mary and St. Peter, Waverly St. Mary, Gahanna St. Matthew and Columbus Our Lady of Peace churches.

At the conclusion of Mass, Bishop Fernandes announced the first parish assignments for the five newly ordained priests.

Father Carter will serve as parochial vicar at Gahanna St. Matthew Church. He will also serve as administrator for the Columbus Holy Resurrection Melkite Greek-Catholic Church beginning Aug. 1.

Father Colby will serve as parochial vicar at Marion St. Mary and Cardington Sacred Hearts churches. Father Fox will be parochial vicar at Johnstown Church of the Ascension and Sunbury St. John Neumann Church.

Father Haemmerle will serve as parochial vicar at Westerville St. Paul the Apostle Church. He will also work with Father Hahn in the vocations office, serving as assistant vocations director.

Father Johnstone was assigned as parochial vicar at Worthington St. Michael the Archangel Church and chaplain at Columbus St. Francis DeSales High School.

The newly ordained will begin their diocesan assignments in July.