Archbishop William E. Lori will ordain 12 transitional deacons during a 10 a.m. Mass May 16 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland. The liturgy, which will be livestreamed on the cathedral’s YouTube page, marks the final step before their anticipated ordination to the priesthood next year.
Jeremy Austin Belk
Age: 25
Hometown: Finksburg
Education: Homeschooled through Kolbe Academy through high school
Seminary: Our Lady of Providence Seminary, Providence, R.I.; St. John Paul II Seminary, Washington, D.C.; Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg
Home/Sponsoring Parish: Pastorate of St. Francis-St. Mary, Holy Family, Middletown
Pastoral Assignments: St. Mary, Hagerstown; St. Louis, Clarksville; Holy Family, Middletown.
Did you know? Belk enjoys many board games and sports (disc golf, volleyball, soccer and ultimate frisbee). A special skill he’s cultivated for about eight years is barbering and he hopes to open a men’s parish barbershop at a future assignment.
Jhonny Alejandro Escobar Castaño
Age: 29
Hometown: Santa Rosa de Cabal, Risaralda, Colombia
Education: Escuela Pedro José Rivera Mejía, Santa Rosa de Cabal, Risaralda; IE Monseñor Antonio José Giraldo Gómez, La Merced, Caldas; Seminario Nacional Cristo Sacerdote, La Ceja, Antioquia, Colombia
Seminary: Seminario Nacional Cristo Sacerdote, La Ceja, Antioquia, Colombia; St. Mary’s Seminary and University, Roland Park
Home/Sponsoring Parish: Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Essex
Pastoral Assignments: St. Francis de Sales, Abingdon; MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, Rossville; St. Matthew and St. Francis of Assisi, Baltimore
Did you know? Castaño enjoys music, especially singing and playing the guitar. He also loves trying different foods and exploring new places and cultures.
Luis Hernando Castrillon
Age: 29
Hometown: Cúcuta, Norte de Santander, Colombia
Education: María Auxiliadora, Cúcuta, Colombia; Obispo Pablo Correa Leon, Cúcuta, Colombia; Universidad Francisco de Paula Santander, Cúcuta, Colombia
Seminary: Seminario Nacional Cristo Sacerdote, La Ceja, Antioquia, Colombia; St. Mary’s Seminary and University, Roland Park
Home/Sponsoring Parish: St. Francis de Sales, Abingdon
Pastoral Assignments: St. Phillip Neri, Linthicum Heights; Mercy Medical Center, Baltimore; St. Joseph, Cockeysville; Catholic Community of South Baltimore
Did you know? Castrillon is a sports fan who enjoys strength training, especially weightlifting. Before entering the seminary, he studied systems and software engineering. He has a strong interest in evangelization, preaching, charismatic spirituality and youth ministry. He also enjoys playing the guitar.
Andrew Chase
Age: 26
Hometown: Severna Park
Education: School of the Incarnation, Gambrills; Benfield Elementary, Severna Park; Severna Park Middle School; Severna Park High School; McGill University, Montreal, Canada; Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome
Seminary: St. Mary’s Seminary and University, Roland Park; Pontifical North American College while attending the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
Home/Sponsoring Parish: Our Lady of the Fields, Millersville
Pastoral Assignments: Catholic Community of South Baltimore; St. Louis, Clarksville, and St. Francis of Assisi, Fulton; Centro Astalli Refugee Services, Rome; St. Xavier Parish, Maheshpur, Nepal; Missionaries of Charity, Kathmandu, Nepal; Church of the Resurrection and St. Paul, Ellicott City; Santa Galla Parish, Rome; St. Joseph, Cockeysville
Did you know? Chase has a great love for history, especially learning about places and times that are considered obscure and often forgotten. He also enjoys walking and hiking.
Hernan Daniel Salazar Hernandez
Age: 32
Hometown: Pasto, Nariño, Colombia
Education: Libertad Municipal Educational Institution, Pasto, Nariño, Colombia; Formasalud, Tunja, Boyacá
Seminary: Major Seminary of the Sacred Hearts, Pasto, Nariño, Colombia; Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg
Home/Sponsoring Parish: St. John, Westminster
Pastoral Assignments: Parish of God the Merciful Father, Pasto, Nariño; St. John Bosco, Pasto, Nariño; Immaculate Conception, Buesaco, Nariño; Our Lady of Peace, Pasto, Nariño; St. John the Baptist, Villanueva, Nariño; St. Paul the Apostle, San Pablo, Nariño; Our Lady of Mount Carmel, La Cruz, Nariño; Mount St. Mary’s University, Emmitsburg; St. John, Westminster, and St. Joseph, Taneytown; St. John, Frederick, and St. Joseph-on-Carrollton Manor, Buckeystown
Did you know? Hernandez is a former nurse who worked in intensive care and the emergency room. He enjoys hiking.
Kevin McCarthy
Age: 40
Hometown: Florham Park, N.J.
Education: Delbarton School, Morristown, N.J.; Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
Seminary: Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg
Home/Sponsoring Parish: Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Baltimore
Pastoral Assignments: St. Isaac Jogues, Parkville; Our Lady of the Chesapeake and St. Jane Frances de Chantel, Pasadena; St. Bernardine, Baltimore; St. Louis, Clarksville, and St. Francis of Assisi, Fulton
Did you know? McCarthy enjoys fishing and hiking. He worked for several years as a management consultant in New York. His career brought him to Baltimore where he heard the call to the priesthood.
Michael William Moore
Age: 26
Hometown: Born in Teaneck, N.J. and raised in Johnson County, Kan.
Education: Padre Pio Academy, Shawnee, Kan.; St. James Academy, Lenexa, Kan.; Mount St. Mary’s University, Emmitsburg; The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.
Seminary: St. John Paul II Seminary, Washington, D.C.; Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg
Home/Sponsoring Parish: St. John the Evangelist, Frederick, and St. Joseph-on-Carrollton Manor, Buckeystown
Assignments: Our Lady of the Fields, Millersville; Pastorate of St. Francis-St. Mary, Holy Family, Middletown; Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, Homeland; St. Mark, Fallston; St. John the Evangelist, Severna Park
Did you know? Before entering seminary Moore was involved in theater and still performs with the Seton Shrine’s “Back from the Dead” program. He participated in 40 shows with some of his favorites including “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Mary Poppins,” “The Importance of Being Earnest” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
John “Jack” Brophy Morris
Age: 26
Hometown: Clarksville
Education: Fulton Elementary School; Lime Kiln Middle School, Fulton; River Hill High School,Clarksville; The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.
Seminary: St. John Paul II Seminary, Washington, D.C.; Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg
Home/Sponsoring Parish: St. Louis, Clarksville
Pastoral Assignments: Church of the Resurrection and St. Paul, Ellicott City; Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Baltimore; St. Andrew by the Bay, Annapolis; St. John the Evangelist, Frederick, and St. Joseph-on-Carrollton Manor, Buckeystown
Did you know? Morris plays the drums loves hiking and enjoys watching and making films reading and writing. He’s an Eagle Scout and has studied with the Theology of the Body Institute and the Encounter School of Ministry. He served as a sports chaplain while at Mount St. Mary’s.
Benjamin Luke Oursler
Age: 26
Hometown: Severna Park
Education: Homeschooled (including St. Thomas Aquinas Tutorial, then located in Arnold); Mount St. Joseph High School, Irvington; The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.; The Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), Rome.
Seminary: St. John Paul II Seminary, Washington, D.C.; Pontifical North American College, Rome
Home/Sponsoring Parish: St. John the Evangelist, Severna Park
Pastoral Assignments: St. Patrick, Havre de Grace; Catholic Community of Ascension, Halethorpe, and St. Augustine, Elkridge; Our Lady of the Fields, Millersville; St. Joseph, Fullerton; Sacred Heart, Glyndon
Did you know? Growing up near the Severn River Oursler has always loved to be on or near the water. He enjoys swimming fishing crabbing and sailing. During high school he played water polo and in college he rowed. He also enjoys cooking hiking and reading. He was present in St. Peter’s Square for the election of Pope Leo XIV.
David Perez
Age: 31
Hometown: Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia
Education: Instituto Oriente Elementary School and Simón Bolívar High School in Santa Marta, Colombia; Legion of Christ College of Humanities, Connecticut; Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, Rome
Seminary: Completed novitiate in Caracas, Venezuela; Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, Rome; Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg
Home/Sponsoring Parish: St. Philip Neri, Linthicum and St. Clement I, Lansdowne
Pastoral Assignments: St. Ursula, Parkville; St. Clare and Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Essex; St. Katharine Drexel, Frederick
Did you know? Perez enjoys going for walks playing the guitar singing cooking and listening to music. Before entering the seminary he worked as an accounting assistant in Colombia. Especially in good weather he likes to visit the mountains to take in the views and pray the rosary.
Van Thang Pham
Age: 30
Hometown: Nam Dinh City, Vietnam
Education: Giao Lac Elementary School; Giao Lac Middle School; Thien Truong High School (all in Vietnam); Vietnam Maritime University
Seminary: St. Mary’s Seminary and University, Roland Park
Home/Sponsoring Parish: St. Ursula, Parkville
Pastoral Assignments: Our Lady Queen of Peace, Middle River; St. John the Evangelist, Hydes; St. Joseph’s Monastery, Baltimore; Holy Family, Randallstown; St. Charles Borromeo, Pikesville and St. Gabriel, Woodlawn
Did you know? Pham enjoys hiking and sightseeing. He also loves playing ping pong. He has a degree in engineering and has an interest in hospital ministry.
Khoa Anh Tran
Age: 30
Hometown: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Education: Huynh Van Chinh; Dong Khoi; Tran Phu; Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (all in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)
Seminary: St. Mary’s Seminary and University, Homeland
Home/Sponsoring Parish: Immaculate Heart of Mary, Baynesville
Pastoral Assignments: St. Joseph Monastery, Baltimore; Holy Family Parish, Davidsonville; St. Philip Neri, Linthicum Heights; St. Agnes, Catonsville; St. Ursula, Parkville; Sacred Heart, Glyndon
Did you know? Tran enjoys playing the guitar and singing as well as hiking to explore the natural landscapes of Maryland. He is a fan of animated films and classic American movies particularly focusing on memorable character quotes to discover connections to the Bible or insights into the meaning of life. He is passionate about Vietnamese cooking and is eager to learn to prepare dishes from other countries. Folding origami using one-dollar bills is another hobby.
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