May 24, 2013 - Cardinal Sean to Ordain Five Priests

(Braintree, MA) -  Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley will ordain five men to the Priesthood this Saturday, May 25, 2013, at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, 1400 Washington Street, Boston.  The Ordination Mass begins at 9:00 A.M.

Cardinal Seán said, “The priesthood is a gift from Christ.  We are grateful for the generosity these men have given to the Lord’s call to service.  They will join their brother priests, dedicated religious women and men and the faithful ministering in our parishes, working to build strong faith communities.  We pray that these newly ordained priests inspire the current generation of young men to consider the possibility of a vocation and, as they are called, to join those in formation at our seminaries.”  

The CatholicTV Network will broadcast the entire Mass live from the Cathedral beginning at 9:00 A.M.  CatholicTV President Fr. Robert Reed will be providing commentary during the ordination for viewers.  Please check with your local cable provider for the CatholicTV channel in your area or go to  www.CatholicTV.com  for more information.  The Ordination Mass will also be rebroadcast on Saturday evening at 8 p.m. and on Sunday at 11 a.m.  

The Pilot , the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston, has feature profiles of all the candidates in this week’s edition (Friday, May 24^th issue).  Look to next week’s edition (Friday, May 31, 2013) for full coverage of the ordination.  For more information please visit  www.pilotcatholicnews.com .

In addition, George Martell of Pilot New Media will be live photo blogging from the Cathedral on  www.BostonCatholicPhotos.com  starting at 8:30a.m.

Following are the candidates for ordination:

Father John Augustine Cassani

One of the three sons of Richard and Mary Ellen (Pumphrey) Cassani, Father Cassani was born on June 7, 1980. A son of St. Jerome Parish in North Weymouth, he is an alumnus of Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood and graduated from Holy Cross in Worcester in 2002.  Father Cassani completed his seminary studies at St. John’s in Brighton and spent his deacon year working at Sacred Heart Parish in East Boston. Before seminary, he was a financial analyst for South Shore Savings Bank in Weymouth.  Father Cassani will celebrate his first Mass at his home parish of St. Jerome’s in Weymouth on May 26 at 11:30 a.m. He will also be the homilist.

Father Thomas Keith Macdonald

An alumnus of Rome’s Pontifical North American College and a native of Westford, Father Macdonald is one of the three children (one sister, one brother) of Thomas and Kathleen (Verfaillie) Macdonald. He was born on July 9, 1984. This avid hiker is a fan of reading Catholic writers G.K. Chesterton and Joseph Pieper. Father Macdonald, a son of St. Catherine of Alexandria Parish, Westford, graduated from local schools before attending UMass Amherst. Father Macdonald spent his deacon year at St. Paul Parish in Cambridge.  Father Macdonald will celebrate his first Mass at St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish in Beverly on May 26 at 10:30 a.m. The homilist will be Bishop Arthur Kennedy.

Father Jacques Antoine McGuffie

A native of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where he was born on June 18, 1946 to the late Dickens and Leonie (Jean-Philippe) McGuffie, Father McGuffie is one of 7 children — five  sisters and one brother. He attended high school at Lycée Alexandre Pétion in Port-au-Prince. He received his BA from Northeastern University in Boston and his MBA from Boston University.  Before entering and completing his seminary studies at Blessed John XXIII Seminary in Weston, he worked for the Massachussetts Department of Social Services. Father McGuffie spent his deacon year at St. Catherine of Alexandria in Westford.  He will celebrate his first Mass on May 26 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Patrick Church in Roxbury; Father Walter J. Waldron will be the homilist.

Father Gerald Alfred Souza

This son of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Plymouth was born Nov. 3, 1985 to Paul and Donna (Urquhart) Souza. He has one brother.  Father Souza attended Sacred Heart School in Kingston for elementary and high school. Father Souza attended St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia for the first three years of college, before graduation from Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio in 2008. He completed his seminary formation at St. John’s in Brighton. His deacon assignment was spent at St. Mary Parish in Lynn.

Father Souza’s first Mass will be at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish on May 26 at 2:00 p.m. He will be the homilist as well.

Father Christopher William Wallace

One of two sons of William and Kathleen (Moran) Wallace, Father Wallace was born Jan. 19, 1983. This native of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Methuen, attended local schools before matriculating at Merrimack College in North Andover.   Father Wallace completed his seminary studies at St. John’s and spent his deacon year at St. Joseph Parish in Needham. He is an avid Boston sports fan and also supports the Archdiocesan Serra Club for encouraging vocations.  Father Wallace will celebrate his first Mass at St. Theresa Church in Methuen on May 26 at 10:30 a.m.

About the Archdiocese of Boston:  The Diocese of Boston was founded on April 8, 1808 and was elevated to Archdiocese in 1875. Currently serving the needs of 1.8 million Catholics, the Archdiocese of Boston is an ethnically diverse and spiritually enriching faith community consisting of 288 parishes, across 144 communities, educating approximately 42,000 students in its Catholic schools and 156,000 in religious education classes each year, ministering to the needs of 200,000 individuals through its pastoral and social service outreach.   Mass is celebrated in nearly twenty different languages each week. For more information, please visit     www.BostonCatholic.org   .