Eight men will be ordained in June at St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud.
Three men will be ordained to the priesthood at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 15, at the cathedral: Deacons Richard Aubol from Mary of the Visitation in Big Lake, Mark Botzet from St. Nicholas in Belle River and Gregory Sauer of St. Mary of Mount Carmel in Long Prairie.
Five men will be ordained deacons on Saturday, June 8, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral. Seminarians Patrick Hoeft (St. Louis, Paynesville), Brady Keller (St. Gall, Tintah) and Thomas Skaja (Annunciation, Mayhew Lake) will be ordained transitional deacons. Phillip Henneman (Mary of the Visitation, Big Lake) and Jeffrey Winkelman (Our Lady of Lourdes, Little Falls) will be ordained permanent deacons.
A deacon becomes a member of the clergy who makes a promise of obedience to the bishop and commits his life in service to the Church. Deacons can proclaim the Gospel, preach and teach, and administer the sacraments of baptism and marriage. The transitional deacons will take a vow of celibacy and their next step is toward priesthood ordination, which usually occurs within one year of the diaconate ordination.
Feature stories about the men will be published in the July issue of The Central Minnesota Catholic magazine.