BRIDGEPORT
- On Saturday, May 19, Bishop William E. Lori will
ordain four new priests for the Diocese of Bridgeport: Cyrus
Bartolome, Jhon Gomez, Mariusz Olbrys, and Rolando Torres.
The 10
a.m. Mass will be celebrated at Saint Augustine Cathedral,
359 Washington Avenue, in Bridgeport, and is open to the public.
All are welcome to attend.
Accredited
members of the media are invited to attend.
The four ordinandi,
presently deacons, represent the increasing diversity of the
family of faith in the Diocese of Bridgeport. Deacon Bartolome
was born in the Philippines, Deacon Olbrys in Poland, and Deacon
Gomez in Colombia. Deacon Torres was born in Bridgeport, but
grew up in Puerto Rico.
Answering the Call
CAPTION: READY FOR ORDINATION
– Last summer, amid the baroque splendor of Holy Name of
Jesus Church in Stamford, Bishop William E. Lori ordained
to the Order of Deacon the men who are now ready for priesthood:
(l-r) Deacon Mariusz Olbrys, Deacon Jhon Gómez, Deacon Rolando
Torres, and Deacon Cyrus Bartolome. The quartet will be ordained
to the priesthood by Bishop Lori on May 19 at Saint Augustine
Cathedral in Bridgeport. (PHOTO BY JOHN GLOVER)
“This is
a great day for the Diocese of Bridgeport, with the promise of
great blessings ahead,” says Bishop Lori. “These fine young men
have worked very hard to arrive at this day which, for them and
their ministry, is the beginning of giving their lives for God’s
people in the person of Jesus Christ, our High Priest. As we
give thanks to the Holy Spirit, we also express our gratitude
to the parents, family members, parish priests, and countless
others who supported these vocations and made Our Lord's call
that much easier for these men to hear and embrace."
"Everyone
recognizes the importance and the need for vocations to the priesthood,
especially in the moments of great distress and great joy when
we are looking to our priests to guide us and celebrate the sacraments
we need for salvation," adds Father Peter Lynch, director of vocations.
"Every member of the Church shares the responsibility of raising
up vocations, and making the invitation to our young people to
consider who God may be calling them to be. We have here four
outstanding examples!"
Deacon
Cyrus Bartolome
Deacon Cyrus
Matic Bartolome, 29, was born in Bay, Laguna, in the Philippines,
to Elizabeth and Guillermo Dalit. He graduated from the Liceo
de Bay, and lived for a year in Germany before coming to this
country. Interested in the medical field, he enrolled in Norwalk
Community College before recognizing a call to the priesthood.
Deacon Bartolome,
whose home parish is Saint Mary's in Bethel, entered the Saint
John Fisher Seminary Residence in Stamford in 1995. He graduated
from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, attend ed Mount Saint
Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD, and completed his theological
studies at Saint Joseph Seminary (Dunwoodie) in Yonkers, NY.
He served
summer assignments at Saint Luke Parish in Westport, Saint Peter
Parish in Danbury, and Saint Matthew and Saint Jerome parishes,
both in Norwalk. He served his first Mass as deacon at Saint Mary's
in Bethel, where he is presently assigned.
His former
spiritual director at Saint Joseph Seminary, Msgr. Kevin O'Brien,
will vest Deacon Bartolome at his ordination. He will celebrate
his first Mass as a priest on Sunday, May 20, at 11:30
a.m. at Saint Mary's. His good friend, Father Arthur Rojas, a
priest of the Archdiocese of New York, will be the homilist.
Deacon
Jhon Gómez
Deacon Jhon
Jader Gómez, 35, was born in Medellin, Colombia, to Rafael Gómez
and Lilia Rivera. He graduated from the minor seminary of San
Pio X and entered the Colombian Navy, completing two years of
military service. Following that, he worked as a bus driver until
coming to join his family in the United States. He regards Saint
Joseph Parish in South Norwalk, where his family are parishioners,
his home parish.
Deacon Gómez
intended to pursue the American Dream - which did not include
the priesthood - but the Lord called him to a different path.
With the encouragement of Msgr. Stephen DiGiovanni, then rector
of Saint John Fisher, he entered in 1995. The following year he
returned to Colombia and completed his studies in philosophy at
Cristo Sacredote Seminary in La Ceja, Antioquia. Deacon Gómez
completed his theological studies at Saint Thomas Aquinas University
(the Angelicum) in Rome.
During his
seminary years in Colombia, Deacon Gómez served as a missionary
in Chile and worked with the chaplain's office of the Medellin
police department. In Rome, his pastoral assignments took him
to that city's hospitals. Following ordination in Colombia to
the transitional diaconate, he returned to this diocese. He has
served the past year at Saint Joseph Parish in Shelton, working
with both Hispanic and English-speaking parishioners.
Msgr. Bernard
Hebda from the Vatican Office for the Interpretation of Legislative
Texts will vest Deacon Gómez at his ordination, and deliver the
homily at his first Mass. Newly-ordained Father Gómez will celebrate
two Masses at Saint Joseph's on Sunday, May 20: in English
at 10:30 a.m. and in Spanish at 12:30 p.m.
Deacon
Mariusz Olbrys
Deacon Mariusz
Marek Olbrys, 29, was born in Torún, Poland, to Teresa and Stanislaw
Olbrys. He grew up in Ostroleka, and upon completing his education
left Poland to join his family in the United States, making Holy
Name of Jesus Parish in Stamford his home parish.
Already interested
in becoming a priest, Deacon Olbrys contacted the Saint John Fisher
Seminary a few months after his arrival, and entered in 1999.
He graduated from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield and completed
his theological studies at Theological College of The Catholic
University of America in Washington, DC.
Deacon Olbrys
assisted at Saint Agnes Parish in Greenwich, Saint Andrew Parish
in Bridgeport, and Saint Mary Parish in Stamford. He served his
first Mass as deacon at Holy Name of Jesus, and completed his
summer assignment at Saint Jude Parish in Monroe.
Father Stanley
Staniszewski, pastor of Holy Name of Jesus, will vest Deacon Olbrys
at his ordination. The newly-ordained Father Olbrys will celebrate
his first Mass at Holy Name on Sunday, May 20, at 11:30
a.m. The homilist will be Father Miroslaw Stachurski, parochial
vicar of Saint Mary Parish in Greenwich.
Deacon
Rolando Torres
Deacon Rolando
Torres, 28, was born in Bridgeport to Rosa Navedo and the late
Tomás Torres, and was baptized at Saint Mary Parish by then-pastor,
Msgr. J. Peter Cullen. Within a year the family moved to Puerto
Rico.
Deacon Torres
grew up in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico. He attended the minor seminary
of Jesús Maestro in Arecibo, and the regional seminary of San
Juan Bautista in the capital city of San Juan. Following the death
of his father, he took a sabbatical from seminary studies to help
care for his mother. The family moved back to Bridgeport in 2003,
and Deacon Torres now calls Saint Peter's his home parish.
He entered
the Saint John Fisher Seminary in 2004 and completed his theological
studies at Saint Joseph Seminary in Yonkers. As a seminarian,
Deacon Torres spent two summers at Saint Rose of Lima Parish in
Newtown, and served his first Mass as transitional deacon last
year in that parish. For the past year he has worked primarily
with the Hispanic community at Saint Mary Parish in Greenwich.
Deacon Torres
will celebrate his first Mass as a priest in Spanish on Saturday,
May 19, at 6 p.m. at Saint Charles Borromeo Parish in Bridgeport.
Msgr. Cullen, who is currently pastor of Saint Michael the Archangel
Parish in Greenwich, will vest Deacon Torres at his ordination
and deliver the homily for his first Mass. His first Mass in English
will take place the following day, May 20, at 12:15 p.m.
at Saint Mary's in Greenwich.
(For more
information on the Vocations program of the Diocese of Bridgeport,
visit www.HearTheCall.org.)
-30-
BRIDGEPORT,
Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 5:45 p.m. - Upon
hearing the news that Governor M. Jodi Rell has signed into law
today the "Plan B" legislation, Bishop William E. Lori of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport issued the following statement: