Let us welcome three new transitional deacons – Ordination 2024 (Video/ photos)

Three new transitional deacons — Michael Bollinger, Giovanni Cuzziol, and Raymond Walsh — were ordained on Sunday, May 19, in the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark. 

The new deacons range in age from 28 to 37 and come from Ridgewood, Italy, and Philadelphia. All three attended the seminary of Redemptoris Mater of Newark in Kearny. 

The men were ordained by Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark, on a sunny Pentecost Sunday, which celebrates the inception of the Church and the bestowal of the Holy Spirit’s gifts upon the first believers in Jesus. 

The ministry of a deacon begins with service. The seminarians will spend the next year serving an archdiocesan parish — Bollinger at St. Theresa in Kenilworth, Cuzziol at St. Joseph the Carpenter in Roselle, and Walsh at St. Francis de Sales in Lodi — performing charitable works, proclaiming God’s Word, and assisting in the liturgical and sacramental life of the Church. This will culminate in their ordinations to the priesthood one year from now. 

Ordination 

At Sunday’s Rite of Ordination, the readings reflected the celebration of Pentecost. Acts 2:1-11: “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit” and 1 Corinthians 12: “In the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” The gospel reading was John 15 26-27; 1612-15: “The Spirit of truth will guide you to all the truth.”

The ordination began with the presentation of candidates Bollinger, Cuzziol, and Walsh, who were called forth to the sanctuary. 

Cardinal Tobin then asked if the candidates were worthy of ordination. After hearing the response, “After inquiry among the people of Christ and upon recommendation of those concerned with his formation, I testify that they have been found worthy.”  

Cardinal Tobin responded, “We choose these men for the order of the diaconate,” which was met with a huge round of applause.  

Speaking to the three men and those in attendance, the cardinal called for a “celebration of the gift of unity.” 

“How do we become part of God’s kingdom? How do we know that Jesus is the one, the Messiah?” Cardinal Tobin said. “The Pentecost reminds us that it is God’s spirit that moves us to understand, believe, and enter [God’s kingdom].  

The apostles’ response to the Holy Spirit was proclaimed in the “spirit of love, belonging, and oneness,” Cardinal Tobin said. “The apostles would not accept disunity. Instead, they prayed to the Holy Spirit, prayed with all of the community.” 

The apostles ultimately decided to select men from members of the community who were “trustworthy, faith-filled, and wise” to become deacons… representing the fruit of the Holy Spirit, Cardinal Tobin said.  

“So, Michael, Giovanni, and Raymond, as you breathe the special gift of the Holy Spirit, you will not lack for tasks,” Cardinal Tobin said. The deacons will now assist at the altar of bishops and priests, prepare sacrifices, and preside over public prayer and sacramental celebrations.  

“Servants of all, a living example of what Christ asks of all of us — not to be served but serve,” Cardinal Tobin said. “Help us preserve unity in a divisive, divided world so that throughout the world, we will all believe.”   

The candidates then rose and stood before Cardinal Tobin, who questioned them together about their resolve to carry out their office in accord and with the mind of Christ and the Church under the archbishop’s direction.  

Each man then individually knelt before Cardinal Tobin, placed his hands between those of the cardinal, and promised respect and obedience. Cardinal Tobin asked that “God, who has begun good work in each of the men, bring it to fulfillment.”  

In one of the more dramatic moments in the liturgy, the diaconal candidates laid prostrate on the floor while the litany of the saints was sung. 

The cardinal then extended his hands over the candidates, reciting the prayer of consecration and ordaining them. Assisting priests helped the new deacons put on first a deacon’s stole and then a vestment called the dalmatic in bright red colors. The deacons then knelt before Cardinal Tobin and received the Gospel of Christ. The cardinal and the priests gave the kiss of peace to each new deacon.  

For the first time, the deacons assisted Cardinal Tobin in the Liturgy of Eucharist. At the end of Mass, the newly ordained deacons were presented to the congregation. 

The new deacons   

Deacon Bollinger, 28, said he was inspired to enter the priesthood by the lives of the faithful and holy priests from his home parish, St. Charles Borromeo, in Philadelphia, P.A. 

“From an early age, I had excellent experiences with priests who were happy serving the Church,” Deacon Bollinger said. “All along the way, in my discernment, I have been accompanied by wise and caring priests, who have also inspired me.” 

Deacon Cuzziol, 37, of Santa Maria Goretti parish in Rome and St. John the Evangelist in Bergenfield, N.J., said his experience in the Neocatechumenal Way was fundamental for his discernment to the priesthood.  

“Through the Way, I experience the love of God for me, a God that loves me the way I am, with my defects and shortcomings. This experience was also instrumental in seeing the beauty of the mission and the importance of the vocation, of every vocation,” Deacon Cuzziol said. “To be exposed to many priests working as missionaries in many parts of the world makes me reflect on my vocation as well. God, through the Way, showed me the Church as a mother and the beauty of the ministry.” 

Deacon Walsh, 34, of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Ridgewood, also credits the Neocatechumenal Way and the Lord, for his discernment to the priesthood.  

“I listened to the catechesis of the Neocatechumenal Way at St. Catherine of Sienna Parish in Franklin Square, N.Y., while I was ministering at a nearby parish, and my life began to take a direction toward a fullness that I had never dared to seek from any of the sources of fulfillment offered in the world,” Deacon Walsh said. “God was taking action to save me from fear, resentment, sin, and giving me everything, gratuitously. In the course of discovering the beauty that is Christianity, the path to the priesthood opened up through several conversations with priests and my catechists.” 

Any man interested in exploring life in the priesthood is encouraged to contact the Archdiocese of Newark’s Office of Priestly Vocations. This office fosters a culture of vocation through prayer, recruitment, and accompaniment. To learn more, visit www.newarkpriest.com.  

–Photos and video by Julio Eduardo Herrara