Two local men ordained to the priesthood

By Tanya Connor
The Catholic Free Press

VIEW THE PHOTO ALBUM 

Saturday’s ordination of two men to the priesthood was filled with emotion.

“It was very emotional and moving,” said Jacqueline Sullivan, whose son Zachary Sullivan is one of the two new priests. “I did cry, watching him laying down.” (During the Litany of the Saints, the ordinands lie prostrate.)

“I can’t express how proud I am,” Father Sullivan’s mother continued. “And a beautiful turnout and a beautiful ceremony!”

She said she came from her home in Florida for this, her third ordination, having attended last year when her son was ordained a transitional deacon and earlier when he served an ordination Mass.

She went to confession – for the first time in 20 years – so she could receive Communion at her son’s ordination this year, she said.

Phyllis Benoit, an assisted living facility resident who attends Mass at Christ the King Parish in Worcester, was brought to the ordination by her daughter and son-in-law, Alice and Philip Bernard, of St. Paul Oratory in Warren. Two of their children and three grandchildren came too.

“I just prayed to God that I would be healthy so I could be here for this day – prayed hard every day,” Mrs. Benoit said. That’s how much she wanted to see her nephew’s son, Father Jonathan Amidon, ordained.

“He’s a wonderful man – he’ll be a beautiful priest,” she said. “I just have tears, but they’re tears of joy.”

Bishop McManus welcomed the 400-500 people attending the ordination in person and the 549 watching all or part of it livestreamed, and thanked them for their support. The Mass was also broadcast on television and can still be seen on the website worcesterdiocese.org/ordinations-1.

Bishop McManus gave the usual instruction at the time of the homily, speaking about priestly duties and urging the ordinands to live holy lives fulfilling those duties.

The Rite of Ordination also included the calling and election of the two men, their promise of obedience, ordination, and investiture with stole and chasuble, the anointing of their hands, the presentation of the chalice and paten, and the welcoming into the order of priest.

The new priests gave the bishop their blessing at the end of Mass. During the reception afterwards, they blessed others who came to them.

David Dumais, of St. Roch Parish in Oxford, said he’s been “following” both men since they entered seminary.

“What I like about Father Zack is, he’s very straightforward,” Mr. Dumais said. “He doesn’t mince words. Very kind, but he gets his point across.

“I don’t know Father Jonathan as well. He’s very engaging. You feel comfortable approaching him. You could say the same thing about Father Zack.”

He said a priest’s job is “to get me to heaven,” and “if he needs to give me a stern warning, I want him to do that,” which he thinks Father Sullivan will do – in a nice way.

Robert “Bob” Wondolow-ski, of St. Mary Parish in Uxbridge, made a similar point about Father Sullivan, who served there as a transitional deacon.

“I was initially impressed by his forthrightness and simplicity and getting the Gospel message across with good practical examples,” he said.

“I love him because” he’s a simple person, Sister Susana Miranda, a Xaverian Missionary of Mary who serves at Our Lady of Providence Parish in Worcester, said of Father Sullivan. “I admire him … because [with] any free time he had” when at Our Lady of Providence, he went to serve free meals at the St. Francis Xavier Center at St. John Parish in Worcester. “He’s very humble and always available, whatever the need. I think he will be a good priest.”

Deacon John Sullivan, recently ordained a transitional deacon in preparation for priesthood, said it was “cool” to see Father Amidon move along in the journey they shared at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

“He’s always in our prayers,” Herman Millet said of Father Amidon. A member of St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Westborough and its Knights of Columbus John Boyle O’Reilly Council 85, Mr. Millet said their council “sponsored” Father Amidon by giving him some financial support while he was in seminary. He said most councils support a seminarian or two.

“I was able to get a blessing from Father Jonathan,” he said after the ordination, adding that several of the Knights stay in touch with him via emails and cards.

Francesco Cesareo, former president of Assumption University in Worcester, rejoiced in having supported priestly and religious vocations of several students there, including Father Sullivan. He and his wife, Filomena, came from Pennsylvania for Saturday’s ordination.

“Zack was a work study student in my office,” the president emeritus said. “We had conversations” about vocations and the Church. He also went on one of the president’s annual trips to Rome, with students in the Sophia Program, that focused on vocations and what gives meaning to life.

“It was clear that he was considering a religious vocation,” President emeritus Cesareo said of Father Sullivan. “He was curious about the faith. He was delving more deeply into theology.” But the young man “didn’t distance himself” from other students; “he was very much engaged in the life of the college.”