Four Michigan natives, one from Poland ready to serve Detroit’s Church

Detroit — Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron will ordain five men to the priesthood at 10 a.m. May 23 at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Deacons Jacob VanAssche, Mario Amore, Brian Meldrum, Radoslaw Zablocki and Sean Bonner, who range in age from 26 to 45, will be raised to the order of the presbyterate to serve parishes in the Archdiocese of Detroit. Four were educated at Detroit’s Sacred Heart Major Seminary, while the fifth, Deacon Zablocki, a native of Poland, was trained for the priesthood at SS. Cyril & Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake.

The ordination will be broadcast on the Catholic Television Network of Detroit (CTND) at 12:30 p.m. June 2, 9:30 a.m. June 4 and 2:30 p.m. June 5.

Read more about them in the question-and-answer sections throughout the next few pages.

In addition to those for Detroit, other Sacred Heart Major Seminary graduates will be ordained for other dioceses and religious orders in the coming weeks, including two for Marquette (Deacons Brandon Oman and Brad Sjoquist, May 29); two for Lansing (Deacons Bob Bacik and David Fons, June 20), two for Madison, Wis. (Deacons Chahm Gahng and Tafadzwa Kushamba, June 26); and one each for Winona, Minn. (Deacon Jonathan Fasnacht, June 19) and the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (Bro. Jeremy Davis, June 6).

Whether ordained or lay ministers, all are called to offer the “open hands and hearts of the Roman Catholic Church,” said Auxiliary Bishop Francis R. Reiss at a graduation ceremony for those from the Orchard Lake seminary May 2. “This charism has been our most cherished responsibility.”

According to national statistics from the Georgetown University-based Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, this year’s ordination class nationally will include 595 priests, up from 477 the year before. On average, those to be ordained say they were about 17 years old when they first began discerning a vocation to the priesthood.

Significant also is that 78 percent of those to be ordained served as an altar server, 61 percent worked full-time before seminary, and about half attended Catholic schools growing up.

The average age of those entering the priesthood nationally this year is 34, slightly younger than in 2014, but consistent with recent trends. One-quarter of ordinands, such as Deacon Zablocki, were born outside the United States.

Aspiring teacher hears the Lord’s call in college

DEACON BRIAN J. MELDRUM

Age: 31

Parents: William and Jessica Meldrum

Parents’ parish: St. Paul of Tarsus, Clinton Township

Education: St. Thecla Elementary School, Clinton Township (1998); De La Salle Collegiate High School, Warren (2002); Oakland University, bachelor’s in music education (2006); Sacred Heart Major Seminary, bachelor of philosophy (2011), master of divinity (2015), baccalaureate in sacred theology (2015)

Home parish: St. Thecla, Clinton Township

Masses of thanksgiving: St. Thecla, Clinton Township, 10 a.m. May 24; Our Lady Star of the Sea, Grosse Pointe Woods, 11:30 a.m. May 31; St. John the Baptist, Monroe, noon June 7; St. Paul of Tarsus, Clinton Township, 11:30 a.m. June 14.

First assignment after ordination: Our Lady of the Lakes Parish, Waterford

Secular career before seminary: Music minister, theatre director

Briefly describe your route to the priesthood.

I remember thinking about the priesthood at the end of high school, when guys in my class at De La Salle were trying to figure out what we wanted to do with the rest of our lives. I wasn’t thinking about what God wanted for me, only what I wanted. So I quickly dismissed the thoughts of the priesthood because I thought that I wanted to teach. I started to get more involved in my faith life and started growing in my personal relationship with Jesus in college, due to the influence of some awesome Christian friends I met at Oakland.

When I finally started to let God in on the plans, I realized that I was not going to teach music. I was blessed to be hired as the music minister at my home parish, St. Thecla, and it was then that the thoughts of priesthood and ministry began to come back very strongly. I am most grateful for my time working in a parish before entering seminary. My parents and my pastor, Msgr. Gary Smetanka, were very supportive at the beginning of my vocation.

What are your hopes for your priestly ministry?

I hope to be a holy priest who can be a bridge between Jesus and others. I hope that I will be able to lead people to Him, without getting in the way! I have to share the Good News with people; we all do. If Christ is truly raised and we truly have life in Him, how can we not tell others?

What aspect of your ministry is likely to be most rewarding?

I look forward to accompanying the people in the parish on their faith journey, sharing how I have come to know the Lord in my life, and learning from them as well. It will be a joy to celebrate Mass and the sacraments with the people of God. Having been on the other side of the screen many times, it will be very humbling to share God’s mercy and forgiveness with people in the confessional.

What is the greatest challenge facing the Church today? What do you see as the solution to that challenge?

I certainly hope as a priest that I can help young people come to know Jesus. Everything I do in ministry has to lead people to Him, because He is the source, the beginning and the end. If I can help young people see why they should be living their lives for Him and why He matters, then with His grace, the Church will grow.

What saint has been your greatest inspiration?*

After visiting Fatima with my class I am truly inspired by Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto. They lived short lives, but lives of holiness. They really knew the Lord Jesus and they lived their brief lives all for Him. I think they are models of holiness for us all.

How do you see yourself as an emissary of the New Evangelization? 

The New Evangelization is about the messenger as much as it is about the message. We must find new ways of sharing a faith that is ever ancient and ever new. The New Evangelization is about letting God work through me, with the strengths and talents that He has given me, to stir up the fire of the Holy Spirit once again in the hearts of the faithful.

How has Sacred Heart prepared you for your priestly vocation?

Sacred Heart really trains men to be shepherds after the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Our professors are not only great teachers, but great witnesses to the faith. Sacred Heart provides many opportunities for a man to grow his relationship with Jesus through his spiritual life and his relationship with others through working and ministering to the community.

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Looking back, deacon sees ‘hand of God at work’

DEACON MARIO V. AMORE

Age: 28

Parents: Robert and Mary Amore

Parents’ parish: Our Lady of the Woods, Woodhaven

Education: St. Pius X School, Southgate; Gabriel Richard
High School, Riverview; Sacred Heart Major Seminary, associate
in pastoral ministry (2007), bachelor of philosophy (2009), master of divinity (2015), baccalaureate in sacred
theology (2015)

Home parish: Our Lady of the Woods, Woodhaven

Masses of thanksgiving: St. Pius X, Southgate, 3 p.m. May 24; St. Timothy, Trenton, 4 p.m. May 30; Church of the Divine Child, Dearborn, 9:30 a.m. May 31;
Our Lady of the Woods, Woodhaven, 11 a.m. June 21;
St. Regis, Bloomfield Hills, 10 a.m. June 28

First assignment after ordination: Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, Farmington

Secular career before seminary: Director of music

Briefly describe your route to the priesthood.

I first began to think about the priesthood in high school, although looking back, I can see the hand of God at work when I was an altar server in elementary school. While in high school, I kept my thoughts about the priesthood to myself and would brush it off whenever someone from my parish would try to encourage me. I began taking classes at the seminary as a commuter student while working full time in music ministry for different parishes and came to call some of the seminarians my friends. They also encouraged me to take a look at the possibility of priesthood and to attend a discernment weekend.

This weekend was pivotal for me as it allowed me to spend a few days in the shadows of seminarians, learning what their daily lives entailed. I dragged my feet for a few years going back and forth about whether or not the seminary was right for me. Finally, after encouragement from Bishop John Quinn, then an auxiliary bishop of Detroit and now the Bishop of Winona, Minn., I entered in the autumn of 2009.

What are your hopes for your priestly ministry?

My hope is that through my priestly ministry the people of God will draw closer to the Lord and come to know Jesus Christ as the source and center of their lives.

What aspect of your ministry is likely to be the most rewarding?

Without question, celebrating the Mass and the sacrament of reconciliation will be the most rewarding as I make Christ and his grace present to the people. I also find great joy in making the Word of God come to life in the concrete realities of daily life through preaching.

What is the greatest challenge facing the Church today? What do you see as the solution to that challenge?

The greatest challenge facing the Church today is the sense of indifference that many have toward the faith. In response, the entire people of God — clergy and laity — must step up our efforts to stir in the hearts of believers the joy of the Gospel and the true freedom that comes from a life lived in the Holy Spirit.

What saint has been your greatest inspiration?

St. Francis Xavier has been a saint of great inspiration for me because of his willingness to leave everything behind to follow Christ and to spread his Word as a missionary. Through his preaching, he converted tens of thousands of people to Christianity. I pray that this same missionary zeal will be forever present in my priestly ministry.

How do you see yourself as an emissary of the New Evangelization?

The New Evangelization is first and foremost about developing a lasting relationship with Christ.  Whether it’s helping one to fall in love with Christ for the first time or rekindling a relationship with him that has all but died out, the priest’s efforts in the area of the New Evangelization aims to bring people face to face with the intensely personal and abiding love of Christ.

How has Sacred Heart prepared you for your priestly vocation?

Sacred Heart has prepared me well to preach the kerygma — the basic proclamation of the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ who suffered, died, and rose again to save fallen humanity from our sins. Timid followers can only be transformed into intrepid disciples after meeting the Master and understanding, as St. Paul says, that “he died for all so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who for their sakes died and was raised up” (2 Cor. 5:15).

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Seeds of priesthood were planted at an early age

DEACON JACOB A. VANASSCHE

Age: 26

Parents: Jim and Kathy

Parents’ parish: St. Stephen, New Boston

Education: Romulus Community Schools; Sacred Heart Major Seminary, bachelor of arts (2011)

Home parish: St. Stephen, New Boston

Masses of thanksgiving: St. Stephen, New Boston, 1 p.m. May 24; St. Aloysius, Romulus, 5 p.m. May 30; St. Thecla, Clinton Township, noon May 31

First assignment after ordination: St. Damian of Molokai Parish, Pontiac

Secular career before seminary: Student, working at a local funeral home

Briefly describe your route to the priesthood.

When I was 7 years old, our parish priest asked me what I wanted to be when I got older. I told him that I wanted to work construction with my dad, and he replied: “Oh, that’s great, you’ll make a fine priest!” It was at that moment that I first thought that the priesthood could be a possibility; a seed was planted. As I got older, the idea of priesthood quickly faded as well as interest in my own faith.

When I was 17, I was drawn closer to the Church, and it was then that the faith became real; it was more than something to do on an early Sunday morning, but a living faith with a God who loves me. From this new relationship with Christ, he began stirring in my heart the possibility of the priesthood. This is when I returned to that earlier call, that possibility of the priesthood, and began to actively discern.

What are your hopes for your priestly ministry?

A hope that I have for my priestly ministry is that I would like to see many people come to know and experience the love of God and see the face of Christ.

What aspect of your ministry is likely to be the most rewarding?

I really look forward to celebrating Mass and the sacrament of reconciliation. To reconcile others to Christ, and literally bring Christ to them in the Eucharist.

What is the greatest challenge facing the Church? What do you see as the solution to that challenge?

A great challenge facing the Church today is that God loves everyone so much, and so few know about it. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, and when others can experience this divine joy, they won’t be able to contain it. They will want to share this love that God has given them to everyone.

What saint has been your greatest inspiration?

St. Maximilian Kolbe has always been such an inspirational saint for me. The love displayed in his life, for the Blessed Mother, and for others, even to the point of laying down his life so that another may live.

How do you see yourself as an emissary of the New Evangelization?

The New Evangelization is all about keeping together the content of the tradition of the faith, but presenting it in a new light. Evangelization is somewhat new for us Catholics and a new thought; the word “evangelization” is underlined in red as I’m typing this, like I spelled it wrong, but it’s a concept that Google Docs or Microsoft Word doesn’t even recognize. So as a new priest, I want to live my life with the joy that comes from God, and let everyone know what evangelization is, and not to be afraid to share the truth of the love of God with others.

How has Sacred Heart prepared you for your priestly vocation?Sacred Heart has really helped form me in all the pillars of formation (human, spiritual, intellectual, pastoral). I experienced a new depth of my faith in the classroom as well as in the chapel, and with my friends in the cafeteria.

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Orchard Lake seminary grad looks to Padre Pio as example

DEACON RADOSLAW ZABLOCKI

Age: 40

Parents: Halina Wieslaw

Parents’ parish: Parafia Matki Boskiej Czestochowskiej w Kole (Our Lady of Czestochowa in Kolo, Poland)

Education: Master in history; SS. Cyril & Methodius Seminary, Orchard Lake, master of divinity (2015)

Home parish: St. Lawrence Parish in Utica (deacon internship on weekends)

Masses of thanksgiving: SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary Chapel, Orchard Lake, May 24; St. Florian Church, Hamtramck, May 31

First assignment after ordination: St. Thecla Parish, Clinton Township

Secular career before seminary: History teacher

Briefly describe your route to the priesthood.

The idea to be priest first appeared when I was in elementary school and I served as an altar server in my parish. Later on when I went to high school and when I studied, this thought appeared for some time and had an influence on my life. After studies, I started to work as a history teacher, and this idea to be a priest appeared for the second time, and it was very strong.

What are your hopes for your priestly ministry?

I look forward to being in the confessional and to help administer the sacrament of reconciliation for the faithful and to fulfill my ministry to be with people and to be available to people.

What aspect of your ministry is likely to be the most rewarding?

To encourage people to the sacrament of confession, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and the closeness with God in prayer will be very rewarding.

What is the greatest challenge facing the Church today? What do you see as the solution to that challenge?

A great challenge is to encourage people to consciously participate in the Mass by receiving holy Communion with a clean heart and to make people aware of the idea of sin. Sin sometimes has another name, such as “tolerance.” We must name sin as this evil and persuade people to change their lives to live according to God’s commandments.

What saint has been your greatest inspiration?

St. Padre Pio; he was good priest, spiritual father and confessor.

How do you see yourself as an emissary of the New Evangelization?

The New Evangelization requires an openness to people, participation with people and utilizing new ideas to draw people closer to God. For instance, we can use new technology such as the Internet to propagate living with God. New technology exists and we can use it for evangelization. Even in the parish, we can organize concerts, movie projections and lectures that will be interesting for people and encourage them to be part of the Church.

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Sailor never gave up on God’s will for his life

DEACON SEAN BONNER

Age: 45

Parents: Brian and Una Bonner

Parents’ parish: St. Albert the Great, Dearborn Heights

Education: St. Albert the Great, Dearborn Heights (1984); Detroit Catholic Central, Redford (1988); United States Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, N.Y., bachelor of science (1993); Sacred Heart Major Seminary, bachelor of philosophy (2010), master of divinity and bachelor of sacred theology (2015)

Home parish: Immaculate Conception, Lapeer

Masses of thanksgiving: Immaculate Conception, Lapeer, May 23; Thumb Correctional Facility, Lapeer, May 25; St. Albert the Great, Dearborn Heights, May 31

First assignment after ordination: Holy Family Parish, Memphis, and St. Augustine Parish, Richmond

Secular career before seminary: Deck officer sailing aboard commercial cargo ships

Briefly describe your route to the priesthood.

I first began to think about the priesthood during college and the first couple of years after graduation. At the time I prayed to God and told him that I was willing to try seminary, if that was His will for me.  When I offered that prayer, I felt clearly that I was not called to the priesthood. It was not until several years later that I again felt the call to the priesthood. At time I remembered my prayer that I would give seminary a try if that was where I felt God calling me. At the time I first entered seminary, I really did not know where God was calling me, but I made a commitment to God that I would give seminary two years. It was not until halfway through my second year that I started to become certain that God was calling me to the priesthood.

What are your hopes for your priestly ministry?

My hopes for my priestly ministry are to serve God to the best of my ability and to one day enter into His presence in heaven, with all of the people whom I have encountered along the way.

What aspect of your ministry is likely to be the most rewarding?

The most rewarding aspect of ministry so far for me has been bringing Christ through his Word and in the sacraments to people, especially those in prison.

What is the greatest challenge facing the Church today? What do you see as the solution to that challenge?

We face an increasing hostility in the world to the truth. Many have the attitude that there is no truth, no right or wrong. The Church must stand firm, holding to and proclaiming the truths she has held to for 2,000 years.

How do you see yourself as an emissary of the New Evangelization?

The “New Evangelization” cannot be a program or a class, but an attitude and a renewed effort to reach out to those who have either never heard the good news of Jesus Christ or have only heard a distorted version of that good news. We must reach out to people where they are and show them the love of Jesus Christ.

How has Sacred Heart prepared you for your priestly vocation?

Sacred Heart has given me an excellent academic foundation on which to build a firm understanding of our faith and why that faith makes sense. In a world dominated by science, faith is an essential starting point for the hope we have in Jesus Christ, but we must all be prepared to defend the reason for our hope.