MADISON — After attending the Beatification of Blessed John Paul II in Rome where he is doing graduate studies, Fr. Greg Ihm (ordained a priest for the Diocese of Madison last year) e-mailed Bishop Robert C. Morlino.
Father Ihm said he saw more clearly the need always to be “Mary’s priest, as Blessed John Paul was. He told Bishop Morlino, “I hope that you and I will pray for each other and do what is necessary so that we will become, through this month and all the time, Mary’s priests.”
Bishop Morlino said he appreciates spiritual direction from younger priests. This gave him the impetus to preach on Mary’s role in the lives of priests at the ordination of Frs. Jorge Antonio Miramontes-Medina and Timothy John Renz on May 6 at St. Maria Goretti Church in Madison.
The bishop’s entire homily is published in this week’s Catholic Herald. Click here to read the bishop’s column.
An evening of joy
The ordination of two more priests for the diocese (that makes a total of six new priests in the past year) was a happy event for the Diocese of Madison. “What a wonderful evening of joy, that Deacons Jorge and Tim receive one of the greatest gifts they can receive,” said Bishop Morlino in welcoming those filling the church for the ordination Mass.
The bishop thanked all of those who came for their “loving support” of the men being ordained. He also thanked Msgr. Mike Burke and St. Maria Goretti Parish for their hospitality.
He especially welcomed Msgr. Jeffrey M. Monforton , rector of Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Mich., where both the men being ordained have studied.
He also greeted Fr. Paul Ugo Arinze, vocation director of the Diocese of Madison, praising Father Arinze as a “wonderful recruiter.” The bishop said that the diocese is expecting to add 10 new seminarians this year and “we give thanks for that.”
Bishop Morlino also thanked all the priests in attendance, the Knights of Columbus, the Knights and Ladies of the Holy Sepulchre, Dr. Patrick Gorman and the Diocesan Choir, and all those serving at the Mass.
Also involved in the ordination Mass were Deacons Rev. Mr. Dan Kogut of the Diocese of Lansing, Mich., and Rev. Mr. Eric Fedewa of the Archdiocese of Detroit, Mich.
Master of ceremonies was Msgr. James R. Bartylla, assisted by Fr. Chad Droessler, Leon Blanchard, Paul Margala, and Ben Yanke.
Readers were Anna Stroschein and Sr. Maria Guadalupe Medina.
Vesting priests were Msgr. Kevin Holmes, pastor of the Cathedral Parish in Madison, for Father Miramontes, and Fr. Thomas Coyle, pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Jefferson, for Father Renz.
Mother’s Day gift
Presenting the Offertory gifts were Maria and Jorge Miramontes and Jane and John Renz, parents of the new priests.
It was an especially significant time for the mothers of the new priests, since May 8 was Mother’s Day. Said Maria Miramontes, “It’s a very special Mother’s Day. I’m in heaven.”
Jane Renz called the ordination of her son “a total blessing from God. I don’t think I could have a better Mother’s Day gift.”
The first Mass of Thanksgiving for Father Miramontes was on Saturday, May 7, at Holy Redeemer Church in Madison, his home parish (now the Cathedral Parish).
The ordination Mass was filled with tradition and ritual, including litanies and hymns sung in Latin and the laying on of hands by the bishop and all the priests in attendance.
First Masses of Thanksgiving
The first Mass of Thanksgiving for Father Renz was on Sunday, May 8, at St. John the Baptist Church in Jefferson. The homily written by Bishop William H. Bullock, bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Madison who died on April 3, was to be given by Msgr. Lawrence Beeson, vicar for retired priests of the Diocese of Des Moines, Iowa, and a friend of Bishop Bullock’s. Monsignor Beeson attended the ordination Mass.