The Congregation of Holy Cross, United States Province, celebrated the First Profession of Vows of six men onAug. 3.
Rev. Thomas J. O’Hara, C.S.C., provincial superior of the United States Province of Priests and Brothers, presided at theLiturgy, which was at Sacred Heart Church, Colorado Springs, Colo. The novices have spent the past year in deep prayer and reflection at the Holy Cross Novitiate in Cascade, Colo.
“These first professions are confirmation that God continues to bless and form His Church,” said Novice Master Rev. Kevin M. Russeau, C.S.C. “The profession of these six men highlight a relationship between God and each novice that has been discovered and deepened throughout the novitiate year. They will serve God wherever they are sent, whether here in the United States or somewhere else in the Congregation.”
The six men who professed First Vows are:
- Mr. Christopher W. Brennan, C.S.C., a Granger, Ind., native who graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2012 with a degree in philosophy and theology.
- Mr. Michael P. Eardley, C.S.C., graduated from Notre Dame in 2011 with a degree in psychology. He is a Grand Rapids, Mich., native.
- Mr. Brian D. Kennedy, C.S.C., graduated from Notre Dame with a degree in history in 2012. He is from Pequot Lakes, Minn.
- Mr. Brendan J. McAleer, C.S.C., came to Holy Cross College from Arlington Heights, Ill., and graduated in 2011 with a degree in theology.
- Mr. Brendan T. Ryan, C.S.C., has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Notre Dame. He hails from Columbus, Ohio.
- Mr. Timothy R. Weed, C.S.C., earned his bachelor’s degree in 2007 from Aquinas College. He also grew up in Grand Rapids.
The Holy Cross Novitiate in Cascade now sits quiet for a week until next Tuesday, August 13. Thirteen men, having completed a year as postulants in the United States, will arrive to begin their novitiate year. Two days later, on the Feast of the Assumption, the 13 men will be formally received into the novitiate in a Mass celebrated in the novitiate chapel.
This incoming class of 13 novices is one of the largest classes the Congregation has welcomed into the novitiate in the United States in the past 20 years. It is part of a larger upswing in vocations the Congregation has experienced in the United States in recent years.
In the District of East Africa at the Holy Cross Novitiate in Fort Portal, Uganda, Fr. O’Hara also received the First Profession of Vows of five men on July 25. And just a few days earlier, on July 20, nine new men were received into the Holy Cross Novitiate at Lake Saaka.
The United States Province of Priests and Brothers has approximately 100 men in formation in the U.S. and around the world in the Districts of Chile, East Africa (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania), Peru and in the region of Mexico.
Two temporarily professed seminarians in the United States will make their Final Profession of Vows and be ordained to the Order of Deacon on Saturday, Sept. 7 at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. Watch a video and view the photo gallery from last year’s Final Vows.
Find out more about Holy Cross’ formation process in the U.S. by visiting the Province’s Office of Vocations website.
