The Congregation of Holy Cross, United States Province of Priests and Brothers, will celebrate the First Profession of Vows of six men on Saturday, July 28.
Rev. Thomas J. O’Hara, C.S.C., Provincial Superior of the U.S. Province, will preside at the 10 a.m. Liturgy 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.
The six men who will profess First Vows are:
Matthew Hovde, C.S.C., of Miami, is a 2007 graduate of Coral Reef High School. He earned a B.A. in History and Theology from the University of Notre Dame in 2011.
Joshua Leeuw, C.S.C., of South Whitley, Ind., graduated from Columbia City High School in 2006. He graduated from Holy Cross College (Notre Dame, Ind.) in 2010 with a B.A. in Theology and a minor in English.
Michael Palmer, C.S.C., of Berkley, Mich., is a 2007 graduate of University of Detroit Jesuit High School. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2011 with a B.A. in Philosophy.
Ryan Pietrocarlo, C.S.C., of Rochester, N.Y., is a 2007 graduate of Bishop Kearney High School. He earned a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Notre Dame in 2011.
Dennis Strach II, C.S.C., of Rochester Hills, Mich., graduated from Notre Dame Preparatory High School in 2006. He received a B.A. in Music with a minor in Spanish from Oakland University (Rochester, Mich.) in 2010.
Marc Valentin, C.S.C., (from the Vicariate of France), graduated from Stansislas High School in Paris in 2007. He earned a B.S. in Physics and Applications from University of Angers in 2011.
Hovde, Leeuw, Palmer, Pietrocarlo, and Strach will go on as temporarily professed seminarians to live at Moreau Seminary at the University of Notre Dame to work on theological studies and pastoral formation through the Master of Divinity Program. Valentin will return to France to finish his formation process there.
Five men will also profess First Vows on July 25 in the U.S. Province’s District of East Africa at the Holy Cross Novitiate in Lake Saaka in Fort Portal, Uganda.
District Superior Rev. Patrick Neary, C.S.C., will preside at the First Vows of Martin Ikiao Mwenda, C.S.C.; Joseph Kivilu Nthuku, C.S.C.; Joseph Owori, C.S.C.; Emmanuel Ssegujja, C.S.C.; and Noah Tuwebaze, C.S.C.
