CV NEWS FEED // Eleven men will be ordained priests in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles on June 1, the most the Archdiocese has ordained in several years.
Fr. Peter Saucedo, the Archdiocese’s director of the Office for Vocations, said in an emailed news release that once ordained, the priests will serve the local churches throughout the archdiocese.
“More and more I am convinced of the need for people to encounter Jesus Christ, with the many challenges that we encounter in life, people are seeking for something more, and these men with their diverse backgrounds and experiences are excited to bring them the only thing that could truly fulfill that desire,” he added. “We ask for your prayers for these men, that they might inspire young people to encounter Christ and consider their vocation.”
According to the news release, the men will be ordained at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, the culmination of years of study, theological formation, and preparation as seminarians and transitional deacons.
Each of the eleven men has his own story of how he recognized a call to the priesthood, some ranging from an invitation given through years of nurturing the Catholic faith at home with his family to being inspired by the example of fellow priests.
One man, Dcn. Stephen Phillip Watson, chose the priesthood over a highly sought-after culinary internship at Disney World—a 1-in-2,500 opportunity. According to his biography, “he had reached a dream destination but was still left unfulfilled.”
He later began frequenting Mass and adoration and eventually entered formation with a community of priests called the Eudist Fathers.
Dcn. Eduardo Pruneda Tovar grew up in a Catholic family in an area of Mexico known for its strong Catholicism. He grew close to his parish priest and felt a calling to the priesthood from a young age, entering minor seminary in Mexico at the age of 16. After visiting the United States and going on a mission trip to Sierra Leone, he continued his formation in Los Angeles.
Dcn. Thomas James Green was a college football athlete who suffered a devastating knee injury at the beginning of his first season. According to his biography, the injury was a “catalyst for him to reflect on his life, get closer to God, and enter the seminary.”
He spent three years in seminary, discerned out to teach and coach high school football, and two years later, he felt called to re-enter seminary once more.
Dcn. Anthony Huynh went to California State University, Los Angeles and graduated with a B.A. in Social Work, but his interest in the priesthood wasn’t sparked until he met an old friend of his father’s, a priest, in Vietnam one summer.
“He was struck by the simplicity of how his priest friend lived, not owning many material things and just the fact that he was happy with life, doing his priestly ministry, working with the locals in the villages,” Huynh’s biography states.
Huynh joined formation shortly afterwards.
The other deacons have similar stories, but each story is unique to them and has its own special event or invitation from God to pursue a priestly vocation.
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