On Sept. 29, Deacon Ryan Glaser, a member of the parish of St. Michael in Prior Lake and studying to become a priest at the Pontifical North American College, was one of 23 men who were ordained.
They come from 17 different dioceses in the United States and the Archdiocese of Sydney in Australia.
Ordaining 23 Men to Prepare for Priesthood
Glaser revealed his favorite saints in a post that was made on Facebook from the St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul. The saints that he mentioned were St. Jerome, St. Augustine, and St. John Paul II.
Glaser claimed that when he was younger, people regularly advised him to have faith in himself if he wanted to succeed in anything.
Meanwhile, according to The Catholic Spirit, Steven Vetter, who hails from the Diocese of Bismarck in the state of North Dakota and is the nephew of Bishop Austin Vetter of Helena, has been elevated to the position of deacon.
During the ordination Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Altar of the Chair, Bishop Vetter expressed his gratitude to the 23 men for answering "yes" when asked by God and the Church.
He encouraged them to imitate the archangels by, with the assistance of Saint Michael, contending with the Evil One and, with the assistance of Saint Gabriel, acting as a herald of the Incarnation.
He also said that with the assistance of Saint Raphael, they could minister to the people of God and bring healing to them.
The report also stated that the bishop, who served as the director of spiritual formation at North American College between the years of 2012 and 2018, informed the students that he was aware that they had been waiting for this day for a number of years, so they should get to work.
Bishop Vetter explained to them that the fact that the foundation of holy orders is service is made abundantly obvious by the fact that they must first be consecrated as deacons before being ordained as priests.
About Pontifical North American College
Numerous nations maintain seminaries in Rome to lodge their theology students while earning their degrees at one of the many pontifical institutions. Prior to establishing its campus, North American College students studied alongside seminarians from other institutions in the Urban College of Propaganda Fidei, as stated on the school's website.
The North American College's theology program was subsequently moved to the Jesuit-run Gregorian University in 1932.
Currently, students can acquire graduate degrees from universities administered by the Church's major religious communities, including the Gregorian University, the University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, and the University of the Holy Cross.
In addition to the chapel, auditorium, administrative offices, classrooms, and faculty/student living facilities, all donated by alums, NAC also features a big dining hall, a well-developed English-language theological library, and a vast dining hall.
Though it has many modern conveniences and furnishings common in the United States, its architectural style is reminiscent of ancient Rome.
