J.D. Long-García/CATHOLIC SUN

Matt Henry, Chad King and John Parks process into Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral June 5 for their priestly ordaination.

Bishop Olmsted ordains
three men to the priesthood

For the the third straight year, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted ordained three men to the priesthood.

The bishop conferred the sacrament of Holy Orders on transitional deacons Matt Henry, Chad King and John Parks at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral.

"Seeing the love of the people for their priests [during the procession] gives us such a witness of their love and support," Fr. King said after the ordination.

Fr. Henry said the laying on of hands by the bishop was a special moment.

"My only part was just to say yes to that," he said, referring to the prayer of ordination.

Fr. Parks also noted the laying on of hands.

"I just felt that I was being reconfigured in my person," he said. Fr. Parks also mentioned receiving the Eucharist during the orination.

"I was just struck once again that God becomes the Eucharist for us," he said, underscoring God's humility.

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted said all three priests know well the challenges that the Church faces today, including the shortcomings of its members, “but without losing heart, they are ready and eager to be faithful priests of the Lord Jesus” and convincingly share the faith.

Read the bishop's words to the newly ordained priests

“The three men I have the honor to ordain this year are quite different in personality but united by a deep love for the Lord Jesus, and an eagerness to hand on the good news of Christ in convincing ways,” Bishop Olmsted said in an interview prior to the June 5 ordination.

"From this day forward the people of God will call you 'father,' because you will love people in His name," the bishop told the new priests. He encouraged them to listen to confessions with compassion and called them to defend the unborn and the immigrant.

All three priests cited their involvement in youth ministry in the Phoenix Diocese as part of their discernment process.

Each newly ordained will celebrate their first Mass at their home parish June 6. The Mass times are staggered so the new priests can support each other from the pew.

Phoenix’s three new priests fit right in with the 440 men awaiting priestly ordination nationwide.

Of the 339 diocesan and religious ordinands who responded to the survey by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, 72 percent are Caucasian. Half to three-quarters served in some parish ministry before entering the seminary.

More than half are between the ages of 25 and 34, roughly the same as last year. The median age of this year’s ordinands nationally is 33 with Fr. Henry, who turns 26 shortly, being the youngest nationally.