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Happening ... in the Local Church
 The
Local Church celebrated the ordination of four men to the priesthood on
June 12. At right: The four men to be ordained prostrate themselves on
the floor of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception
during the Litany of the Saints. (Photos by Kevin Cullen) |
 Bishop
Higi clasps the hands of Adam Mauman as the ordinand pledges obedience
to the bishop and his successors. The ordination rite brought a
“tremendous amount of peace and joy,” Father Mauman said after the
celebration. |
 The
four ordinands prostrate themselves during the Litany of the Saints. |
 Bishop
Higi lays hands on Mark Walter in the invocation of the Holy Spirit. “I
feel very blessed,” Father Walter said on his ordination day. “I’m
definitely looking forward to administering the sacraments, extending
the ministry of Christ ...” |
 Bishop
Higi offers the prayer of consecration during the Rite of Ordination. |
 Father
Richard Puetz, a member of the diocese’s first ordination class in 1945,
prays over newly ordained Father Andrew DeKeyser. |
 Father
Dennis Faker, right, helps Father David Huemmer with his stole and
chasuble. |
 Bishop
Higi anoints the hands of Father Adam Mauman. |
 Msgr.
Robert Sell III receives a blessing from Father David Huemmer outside
the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception. Hundreds filled
the cathedral in Lafayette on the morning of June 12 for the
celebration. |
 Father
Andrew DeKeyser receives a chalice and paten during the rite. |
 Father
Andrew DeKeyser poses for a photo with his grandmother, 96-year-old
Margaret DeKeyser of Oglesby, Ill. “I hope that I can find a way to
relate my love of Christ to each person that I meet,” he said before his
ordination day. |
 Brother
priests share a fraternal sign of peace with the newly ordained. |
 Father
Mark Walter offers a blessing after the Mass on June 12. (Photos by
Kevin Cullen) |
By Kevin Cullen
The
Catholic Moment
LAFAYETTE — Mark Walter was ordained a transitional deacon a year ago, but it took time to adjust.
“Someone would say ‘deacon’ and I’d keep on walking,” he said with a smile.
But less than an hour after he was ordained to the priesthood on June 12, he was at ease as scores of people knelt for his blessing and called him “Father.”
“It fits,” said Father Walter, 36. “It feels right.
“I feel very blessed,” he said. “This is a time of high emotion, high spirit. I have a lot of family here, and a lot of support, and that feels very good. I’m definitely looking forward to administering the sacraments, extending the ministry of Christ and playing a part.”
Approximately 600 people filled the pews at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception on a hot, humid Saturday to witness and celebrate the ordination of Father Walter and Father Andrew DeKeyser, Father David Huemmer and Father Adam Mauman. Approximately 60 priests plus deacons and seminarians, filled the sanctuary.
The candidates were the 47th, 48th, 49th and 50th priests ordained by retiring Bishop William L. Higi, who has led the diocese since 1984. It was his last ordination as bishop; he is serving as apostolic administrator until Bishop-designate Timothy L. Doherty is installed as sixth bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana on July 15.
Bishop Higi was principal celebrant of the Mass. Principal concelebrants were diocesan priests Very Rev. Canon Gerald Borawski, Father Richard Doerr, Father Theodore Dudzinski, Father Dennis Faker, Father Daniel Gartland, Father Dennis Goth, Father David Hasser, Father Richard Weisenberger and Father Ambrose Ziegler, plus Father Roque Lin of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
The smell of incense, the glitter of gold, and the light of candles filled the sanctuary of the 144-year-old church as the ancient Rite of Ordination unfolded.
First, the candidates were presented to the bishop, who questioned them and accepted their promise of obedience. After that, they lay face-down on the marble floor — becoming as dead men — as the Litany of the Saints was sung, invoking heaven to pray for them, to show mercy, and to resurrect them as men worthy of the holy priesthood.
Bishop Higi then placed his hands on the head of each man, invoking the Holy Spirit; brother priests did the same.
Bishop Higi then offered the prayer of consecration. The new priests were invested with stoles and chasubles. Their hands were anointed, and each was given a chalice and paten.
The newly ordained then received a fraternal embrace from Bishop Higi and from all of the other priests at the altar, including Msgr. Fred Potthoff, 91, who was ordained before the diocese was formed in 1944, and Father Richard Puetz, 91, a member of the first ordination class in February 1945.
Father
Walter’s sister, Molly, came from Denver to attend the celebration with
approximately 50 family members. She said she had looked forward to it for
months.
“I am overjoyed for my brother — so happy for him,” she said. “Our family has always cherished our faith. We were brought up in it; it has always been a big part of us.”
Through his seven years of seminary studies, she said, “we have always tried to be there for him. He learned a lot, and we have seen him grow as an individual. People have been so supportive in all the parishes he has served. He has built a community of faith.”
Starting July 1, Father Walter will be an associate pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, Carmel.
In his homily, Bishop Higi reminded the candidates of their priestly, “awesome” duties.
“You are to convene the people of God,” he said. “… Your growth in holiness will be crucial in summoning your brothers and sisters to transform their lives in response to their call to holiness.
“Only if you have a passion for justice and an eye for the unfortunate or the faltering, will people respond to your summons with enthusiasm. Only if you unleash the truth fearlessly and look each brother and sister in the eye kindly, will they hear and hearken.
“Only if you rigorously forego pride and advantage, will they rally to you with their hearts. Only if you are a servant who accepts the cross, will they be stung by Jesus’ call to wash one another’s feet.”
A priest, Bishop Higi said, is called to be an unworthy servant, sent to do the work of Christ. He is the victim’s advocate, a shepherd to the lost, a herald of good news to the disheartened, a forgiver of sinners and a “disturber of conscience.”
“To those who flinch before the Lord,” he said, “you must show the welcoming smile of his face. To those who attempt to shelter themselves behind custom or law, you must be a prophet.
“You are not being called to be a Lone Ranger, a priest who retreats into private practice,” Bishop Higi said, “but to labor with your brother priests and your bishop in inviting one another and the people you are commissioned to shepherd to transform their lives, to grow in holiness, to accept the invitation of Jesus Christ to the ongoing conversion others will observe in you.
“As the Lord gave his life for his people,” he said, “lay down your life that your brothers and sisters may have life.”
Father Huemmer, 44, was a fifth-grade teacher for 14 years before entering the seminary.
His
father, Carl, of Mauldin, S.C., said that his son had been considering the
priesthood for many years. His feeling was simple: “It’s time not to think
about it, but to do it, or you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
“I’m convinced he has finally found his place in life,” he said. “It makes me happy that he is happy.”
Father Huemmer said he was grateful for the love that washed over him during the ordination rite. “I don’t know if words can describe it,” he said.
He said he looked forward to teaching others about the Catholic faith and “helping others grow in their love for Jesus Christ and his Blessed Mother.”
He will be an associate pastor at St. Patrick and St. Joan of Arc parishes, Kokomo.
Cynthia
Mauman, the mother of Father Mauman, said she felt “really blessed” to see
her son become a priest. He is a graduate of Purdue University, and once
worked in the construction industry.
When Father Mauman was 4 years old, her grandfather predicted that he would someday be a priest, Mrs. Mauman said. The boy often spent time with the Sisters of St. Joseph at their residence in Marion.
“Even as a little boy, he loved to talk to them, and they’d fill him with milk and cookies,” she said.
Father Mauman left the seminary twice for discernment, but “each time he came back more committed,” she said. “The whole family had the journey with him.”
He also has been appointed an associate pastor at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.
The ordination rite brought a “tremendous amount of peace and joy,” he said. “It was amazing to see how many family and friends came to pray with us.”
Throughout the years, he said, “the generosity of the people (of the diocese) has been humbling to me … the spiritual bouquets, the invitations to people’s homes, the support for us. Our families are so big … we have so many homes and so many family members now.”
Father DeKeyser, 40, earned degrees in engineering and business administration before entering the seminary. He said that he became emotional as he sat before the altar, waiting for Bishop Higi to call him to the priesthood.
“Suddenly, it hit me that I was about to celebrate the Mass, and change bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ,” he said. He will be an associate pastor of the cathedral parish and of St. Lawrence Church, Lafayette.
He was especially pleased, he said, to have his 96-year-old grandmother, Margaret DeKeyser, of Oglesby, Ill., in attendance.
His father, Raymond, said that Father DeKeyser was the first priest in the family. He praised his son for the “real dedication” that it took to enter the seminary.
Pride
radiated from the face of his mother, Ellen.
“He was older when he made the decision,” she said. “It was something he decided, with God and prayer. If you feel it is something you are called to do, it’s wonderful.”