Notre Dame, Ind. – With joy and thanksgiving, the Indiana Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross announces the Ordination of two new priests on Saturday, April 30, 2011, at 2:00 p.m. (EDT) at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, located on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. The Most Reverend Daniel R. Jenky, C.S.C., Bishop of Peoria in Illinois, will confer the Sacrament of Holy Orders on Rev. Mr. John Britto Antony, C.S.C. and Rev. Mr. Paul M. Ybarra, C.S.C.
“The international Holy Cross community is blessed to welcome these men who will bring hope and joy to many people through our ministries,” says Rev. David T. Tyson, C.S.C., Provincial Superior for the Congregation of Holy Cross, Indiana Province. “These ordinations are a time of gratitude and celebration for us.”
Get an inside perspective of Ordination Week from the Vocations blog.
Rev. Mr. John Britto Antony, C.S.C.
The youngest of five children, John Britto Antony, C.S.C. was born in the village of Agraharam, Salem, India to devout Catholic parents, Antony and Natchathiram. He enrolled in the Juniorate program of Holy Cross in South India at the age of 13, joined the Brothers of Holy Cross in 1984 and made his final profession of vows in December, 1990. Britto holds a B.A. in Sociology from Annamalai University in Chidambaram and a M.A. in English from Loyola College, Madras University in Chennai. He also studied Philosophy and Theology at the esteemed Pontifical University of Jnana Deepa Vidya Peeth (J.D.V.) in Pune, India and later earned a B.Ed. in English, a M.Ed. in Education from Annamalai University and a M.Phil. from Periyar University, Salem, India.
As a professed brother of the Congregation of Holy Cross, Britto served in a variety of leadership roles, most recently as vicariate superior for the Brothers of Holy Cross in South India from 2005-2009.
During his years of ministry in India, Britto’s desire to seek ordination to the priesthood grew and in 2009 he joined the Eastern Province of Priests and Brothers in the United States where he was assigned to study in the Theology Department at the University of Notre Dame. Ordained to the transitional diaconate in September, 2010 in Bennington, Vt., Britto has served as deacon at Sacred Heart/St. Francis de Sales Parish since September of last year.
Following his ordination on Easter Saturday, Britto will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Sunday, May 1 at 10:00 a.m. He will also celebrate Masses of Thanksgiving at The Church of the Holy Spirit, his home parish in Salem, Tamil Nadu, India on May 13 at 10:00 a.m. and on August 7 at Sacred Heart/St. Francis de Sales Parish in Bennington, Vt. at 10:00 a.m. where a reception will follow in the Bennington Parish Center.
Rev. Mr. Paul M. Ybarra, C.S.C.
Paul M. Ybarra, C.S.C. was born in Los Angeles, Calif. and attended West Covina High School before entering the University of Notre Dame in 1998. There he earned a B.A. degree in Film, Television, and Theatre in 2002 and a M.Ed. through the Alliance for Catholic Education prior to entering formation with the Congregation of Holy Cross in 2004. While completing his master’s degree at Notre Dame, Ybarra taught Middle School English and Social Studies at St. John Vianney Catholic School in Goodyear, Ariz. Following a Novitiate year in Colorado Springs, Colo., Ybarra professed first vows with the Congregation of Holy Cross in July, 2006 and returned to Moreau Seminary to continue theology studies at the University of Notre Dame.
During his time in formation, Ybarra worked with the St. Vincent De Paul Society of St. Joseph County in Indiana, as a chaplain at Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs, and served as a member of the staff at Holy Redeemer Parish and School in Portland, Oreg. In addition he participated in the Marriage Prep program at St. Pius X Parish in Granger, Ind., returned to St. John Vianney Parrish in Arizona as a pastoral associate, and completed an internship with the Center for Social Concerns at the University of Notre Dame.
Prior to his profession of perpetual vows with the Congregation of Holy Cross and ordination to the diaconate in August, 2010, Ybarra was awarded a Master of Divinity degree from the University of Notre Dame. During the past year, he has been assigned to St. Ignatius Martyr Parish in Austin, TX where he has served as a transitional deacon.
Ybarra will offer a Mass of Thanksgiving at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Sunday, May 1 at 11:45 a.m., and later that evening at 10:30 p.m. in the Dillon Hall Chapel at Notre Dame. Masses of Thanksgiving will also be celebrated at St. Ignatius Martyr Church in Austin, Texas on May 7 at 5:00 p.m. and on May 8 at 9:30 a.m., followed by a reception in the Fr. Dore Family Center, and in his home parish at St. Christopher Church in West Covina, Calif. on July 3, 2011 at 12:15 p.m.
The ordination class of 2011 carries on a tradition that began in France in 1837, when a small group of men, led by Father Basil Moreau, formed the Congregation of Holy Cross. Beatified in LeMans, France, in September of 2007, the life and instruction of Blessed Basil Moreau are sources of inspiration for the more than 1,200 Holy Cross priests, brothers, and seminarians who serve in hundreds of Holy Cross colleges, universities, parishes, high schools, and social service organizations on five continents. The men of Holy Cross are educators in the faith, forming character by educating both the mind and the heart in primary, secondary, and higher education, in parishes, and in missions. For more information, visit www.holycrossvocations.org.
