THREE SEMINARIANS TAKE NEXT STEP TOWARD PRIESTHOOD
 IN DIOCESE OF TOLEDO

April 25, 2010 – Toledo, OH – On Saturday, May 1 at 11am, Bishop Leonard P. Blair will ordain three men as transitional deacons into the diocese at Our Lady of Consolation Basilica and National Shrine in Carey, Ohio. Unique to this ordination is that all three seminarians will be ordained in their home diocese, the Diocese of Toledo.

Michael Roemmelle is a seminarian at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Cincinnati, OH studying Theology. He is a graduate of Toledo Central Catholic High School and The Pontifical College Josephinum. Rommelle did a pastoral internship and summer assignment at St. John Parish in Delphos, and held summer assignments at All Saints Parish in New Riegel, Ohio, and the Catholic Club in downtown Toledo. He will do an internship at Saints Peter and Paul Parish in Sandusky this summer.  His home parish is St. Rose in Perrysburg. The Vestors for his ordination are the Very Rev. Dennis Hartigan, and Rev. Msgr. William Neuhaus, V.F. (Rector, St.Mary’s Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, KY).

Jerry Schetter is a seminarian at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, CT studying Theology. Prior to his study as a seminarian, he worked for 32 years as a small business manager. Schetter will do a pastoral internship in 2010 at St. Mary Parish in Tiffin and had summer assignments at St. Mary Parish, St. John Parish in Delphos and the Catholic Club in downtown Toledo. His home parish is Holy Rosary in St. Mary, OH. The Vestors for his ordination are Rev. Keith Stripe and Rev. Mel Verhoff.

Philip Smith is a seminarian at Pontifical North American College in Rome, Italy studying Theology. He is a graduate of Tiffin Calvert High School and Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH. Smith did a pastoral internship year at St. Wendelin Parish in Fostoria, and summer assignments at Holy Angels Parish in Sandusky and a parish in Italy. His home parish is St. Joseph in Tiffin, OH. The Vestors for his ordination are Very Rev. G. Allan Fillman and Rev. Michael Dandurand

Special Concelebrants for  the Mass will be Reverend John Raphael Hadnagy, OFM Conv., Pastor, Our Lady of Consolation Parish, Rev. Edward Smith, Rector/President of Mount Saint Mary, Very Rev. Douglas L. Mosey, C.S.B. President / Rector Holy Apostles College and Seminary, and Fr. Ken Cienik, S.A., Director of Franciscan University Pre-Theologate Program

 The Ordination Mass is open to the public and a reception will follow in the Shrine Cafeteria on Clay Street. The reception will feature the diocesan Year for Priests Art Show, a collection of student and adult artwork from across the diocese celebrating the priesthood.

For more information on the ordinands, please contact the Office of Vocations for the Diocese of Toledo at 419-244-6711, or visit www.toledodiocese.org. Diocese of Toledo, established April 15, 1910 encompasses 8222 square miles in a mixture of urban and rural areas that spans 19 counties across Northwest Ohio, serving 301,134 Catholics. The diocese includes Allen, Crawford, Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Huron, Lucas, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Richland, Sandusky, Seneca, Van Wert, Williams, Wood and Wyandot counties.

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