Br. Paul Graupmann, Jeff Pooley and Simon Ortiz came one step closer to the priesthood this past weekend. Pooley and Ortiz celebrated their Transitional Diaconate Ordination before a standing room only crowd at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral in Phoenix on Sunday. Auxiliary Bishop Eduardo Nevares presided over the Mass, and he was joined by more than two dozen priests and deacons from across the Diocese of Phoenix.
Br. Paul Graupmann’s Transitional Diaconate Ordination was celebrated by Bishop John Dolan on May 24 at St. Anthony Mission in Sacaton, Ariz., and was a summation of the profound surrender these three men have embodied within their vocations.
Br. Graupmann, now Dcn. Graupmann, has been surrendering ever since he joined the Franciscan Friars of the Holy Spirit in 2016 to discern a call to religious life. After a time in the Navy, he felt a call to the priesthood, met the friars and felt a sense of peace the first time he visited the friary. Since then, he’s surrendered everything in order to become a friar, serving the Native American people of four reservations in the Diocese of Phoenix.
It was fitting to have Dcn. Graupmann’s diaconate ordination take place amidst the community of St. Anthony Mission, which knows how to surrender. When the original mission was destroyed in 2000 due to arson, the parishioners surrendered, waiting for God to prepare the way for a new place of worship to be built. The new mission was dedicated a little less than a year ago and was named a pilgrimage site by Bishop Dolan for the Jubilee Year of Hope. In the midst of the surrender of Dcn. Graupmann and the community of St. Anthony Mission, those in the pews at the ordination were invited to join in the surrender.
The theme surrender came from Bishop Dolan who presided over the ordination Mass. He was struck by the song chosen for the preparation of the altar, “I Surrender” and beautifully reminded Dcn. Graupmann that the rest of his vocational journey would require surrender.
“It’s the voice of God which occasionally interrupts your plan and always presses your heart to surrender,” Bishop Dolan said. “… whether it be the one soul who needs your personal presence more than your perfect homily, it requires a surrender.
“One thing is certain,” he continued. “You won’t be alone. Christ walks with you today, Paul, and so do we.”
The surrender continued as Dcn. Graupmann professed “I do” to six promises he will keep as an ordained religious, promised to be obedient to Bishop Dolan and laid prostrate during the litany of saints.
Tears filled the eyes of Natives who were present as Dcn. Graupmann prepared the altar for the first time. The Natives of the Gila River Reservation had gone 30 years without consistent access to the sacraments until the friars arrived in 2016. During the ordination, Natives witnessed Dcn. Graupmann surrender everything in order to serve them for the rest of his life. The infectious smile that remained on Dcn. Graupmann’s face showed a joy that comes only from surrendering everything.
