Bishop John Dolan celebrated a baccalaureate Mass at St. Agnes Parish in Phoenix on Monday evening (April 20) for the first-ever graduating class of local seminarians from The University of Mary. The graduates are part of Nazareth Seminary, the historic, fully local seminary in the Diocese of Phoenix.
Auxiliary Bishop Eduardo Nevares, Auxiliary Bishop Peter Dai Bui, Vicar General Fr. John Muir and Rector of Nazareth Seminary Fr. Paul Sullivan concelebrated the Mass. Family members of the seminarians, seminary formation staff members and 15 additional priests — including Vice-Rector of Nazareth Seminary Fr. Kurt Perrera and Director of Vocations Fr. Will Schmid — were also in attendance.
The University of Mary, located in Bismark, N.D., partners with Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, Ariz., to run a local branch of the university called Mary College at ASU. This is where the eight seminarians have been studying for the past three years to earn their bachelor’s degree in Catholic Studies and Philosophy. The young men will be traveling to Bismark to walk at graduation with fellow students on Saturday, April 25.
Bishop Dolan established a new tradition at the Mass in which seminarians ring a large bronze church bell to commemorate major transition moments in the seminary. The selected bell, which is mounted in wrought iron, was presented by Pope Leo XII to the Saint-Sulpice Seminary in Quebec, Canada in 1892. The bell was later sold at auction and donated to the Diocese of Phoenix. Toward the end of the liturgy, each seminarian was recognized by name and rang the bell.
The eight graduating seminarians are Bobby Balser, Jacob Barnett, Chris Lukaszewski, Julian Mena, Jose Munoz, Br. Damien Van Amerongen, Alexander Vinciguerra and David Wilmowski. After graduating they will continue their formation at St. Gregory House in Phoenix for the three-and-a-half-year Configuration Stage of formation. Men from this class are on track for a 2030 priestly ordination.
Nazareth Seminary, which began expansion in October 2023, is a household model of formation and education where seminarians and their formators live, pray, study, cook and care for the home together. The local program also allows men to get to know the cultures, parishes and people they may one day serve as priests. When completed, Nazareth Seminary will be composed of four formation homes, the final of which will be St. Agnes House, which will be located at St. Agnes Parish and is slated to open in fall 2026.
Be on the lookout next week for coverage of the sights and sounds of Bismark, as we celebrate our seminarians and document this historic occasion for the Diocese of Phoenix.
To learn more about Nazareth Seminary, click here.
