Three Masses in the diocese to inaugurate the Theatine Fathers’ jubilee year will be celebrated on Thursday, Sept. 14, and two will take place on Sunday, Sept. 24.
On Sept. 14, Masses in English will be offered at 8:30 a.m. at Powell St. Joan of Arc Church and Columbus St. Peter Church. A Mass in Spanish will take place later that day at 7:30 p.m. at St. Peter Church.
On Sept. 24, Masses will be celebrated at Zoar Holy Trinity Church at 10 a.m. and at Dover St. Joseph Church at 1:30 p.m. to usher in the Theatines’ jubilee year.
The Congregation of Clerics Regular, known as the Theatines, are beginning the observance of the 500th anniversary since the order’s founding on Sept. 14, 1524 by St. Cajetan.
Four Theatine priests are currently stationed in the diocese. The order arrived in the diocese in 2021.
Father David Arroyo, CR, serves as a parochial vicar at St. Joan of Arc Church and is in residence at St. Peter Church and has additional responsibilities as chaplain at Cristo Rey Columbus High School. He also was recently named the diocese’s vicar for Hispanic ministry, replacing Father David Schalk, who is now the pastor at St. Joan of Arc and St. Peter churches.
Father Salvador Cisneros, CR, and Father Victor Cano, CR, are with Father Arroyo at St. Peter Church, where they moved in July from Columbus Christ the King Church.
The Theatine priests also assist with Masses at Columbus St. Mary, Mother of God Church and at Newark Blessed Sacrament Church, and their parish work includes Hispanic and youth ministry. In August, the Theatines accompanied young adults from the diocese to Portugal to participate in World Youth Day.
The fourth Theatine father in the diocese, Father Tomas Carvajal, CR, has ministered in the diocese since 2021 at Holy Trinity and St. Joseph churches.
To celebrate the 500th anniversary of the foundation of the Theatines, the Holy See has granted a plenary indulgence to the faithful who visit churches entrusted to the pastoral care of the Theatines from Sept. 14 to the same date in 2024.
During this privileged year, the faithful are invited to perform an extra sacrifice that shows their desire to deepen their conversion of life as an indication of taking a step on the path to holiness.
This means going to a church served by the Theatines to receive the sacrament of reconciliation, attending Mass and praying for the intentions of the pope and invoking the intercession of St. Cajetan.
As part of the yearlong event, every Theatine community will celebrate an inauguration Mass and offer other opportunities for people to know more about the order’s charism.
