Notre Dame, Ind. – Three men will make Final Profession of Vows with the Congregation of Holy Cross at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012, in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame.
Newly elected Provincial Superior with United States Province of Priests and Brothers, Rev. Thomas J. O’Hara, C.S.C., will preside at the Mass and receive the vows of Mr. Brian Christopher Ching, C.S.C., Mr. Mark Francis DeMott, C.S.C., and Mr. Jarrod Michael Waugh, C.S.C.
The following day, at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012, the men will be ordained to the Order of Deacon by the Most Rev. John M. D’Arcy, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, at the Moreau Seminary Chapel. All three will be ordained priests in the spring, on April 6, 2013.
Brian, Mark and Jarrod will take the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience according to the Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross. For the past several years, they have been in a period of temporary vows, renewing those vows annually. On Aug. 25, they will commit their lives and work to the communal life and ministry of Holy Cross.
Brian Ching is the eldest of Debbie and Fred Ching’s two children. Born in New York City, he grew up in Flushing, N.Y., where he graduated from Holy Cross High School in 2003. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Notre Dame in 2007 and a Master of Divinity in 2012.
Brian entered Old College during his sophomore year at Notre Dame in 2004. He studied at the American College in Louvain, Belgium, for a semester. During his time at the Holy Cross Novitiate (2007-2008) in Cascade, Colo., Brian served as a volunteer chaplain with Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs. He has also served as a religious education teacher at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Granger, Ind., ( 2009-2010); and as a seminarian intern at Holy Cross’ St. John Vianney Parish in Goodyear, Ariz., (2010-2011). He professed his First Vows on Aug. 2, 2008. Brian is now serving at St. Joseph Parish, South Bend, Ind., and will continue to serve there as a Deacon.
Brian said he first felt God might be calling him to religious life while he was attending high school, which was run by Holy Cross brothers. “While I could not articulate it at the time, there was definitely something about their way of life that I found interesting and appealing,” he said. “There was just something different about their approach to teaching and to the students and you could tell that the difference had something to do with their life of praying and living in Community.”
Brian looks forward to being able to serve God’s people as a deacon and then a priest, especially administering the Sacraments. “The opportunity to make Christ present in people’s lives, both in the Sacraments and the many other pastoral situations we run into every day, gives me great job and great zeal to live my vocation and to live it well,” he said.
Mark DeMott’s first placement as a Deacon is serving at the University of Portland (Ore.), a Holy Cross University, as a residence hall director.
He has been well-travelled during his seminary days with Holy Cross, having served as Director of Christian Formation at Saint Joseph Parish, South Bend (2007-2008); Parroquia Nuestra Madre Santisima de la Luz in Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon, Mexico (summer 2008); Penrose Main Hospital in Colorado Springs (during his Novitiate year in 2008-2009); Sacred Heart Parish in Colorado Springs (2008-2009); Holy Cross and Saint Stanislaus Parish, South Bend (2009-2010), where he served as Director of Liturgy and Music; Saint Joseph’s High School, South Bend (2010-2011); and Holy Cross Lake View Senior Secondary School, Jinja, Uganda, where he was Choir Director and a chemistry and biology teacher (2011-2012). Mark entered Holy Cross in 2007. He professed his First Vows on Aug. 1, 2009.
The eldest of five children, Mark grew up in Holland, Mich., the son of Dr. and Mrs. John (Jodi) DeMott. He was born in Kansas City, Mo., and graduated from Holland High School in 1998. He received a bachelor’s degree in 2002 from Notre Dame, where he also received a Master of Divinity in 2007.
“I came to Notre Dame at 16 for a high school confirmation retreat at Our Lady of Fatima Retreat House. Fr. Steve Gibson, C.S.C., told us stories about his experience as a missionary in East Africa. I remember listening carefully and thinking for the first time that religious life and priesthood seemed interesting,” Mark said. “Three years later, I came to Notre Dame as a first-year student and Fr. Mike Connors, C.S.C., invited me to think about this life for myself. Discernment took time. I had studied for a career in medicine and had imagined that I would get married. Slowly, however, God’s invitation to religious life and priesthood became clear to me. I began to work with the poor and those battling addiction. I studied theology. I sought out opportunities for ministry. Finally, as I finished my time as Rector of Keough Hall at Notre Dame, I had a deep sense of peace about my future. Religious life and priesthood in Holy Cross had totally captivated my imagination. This is what I love and how I want to live for the rest of my life.”
Jarrod Waugh grew up in rural Southeast Kansas, graduating from Labette County High School in Altamont in 2004.
The eldest of three children of Jerry and Carolyn Waugh, he earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame in 2008 and a Master of Divinity in 2012. He lived in Keough Hall for two years and was active in Campus Ministry and the campus Knights of Columbus Council before entering Old College as a junior in 2006. Jarrod professed First Vows on Aug. 1, 2009.
During his Holy Cross formation, Jarrod served as an adult Bible study catechist at Holy Cross Parish in South Bend (2007-2008); St. Andre Bessette Catholic Church, Portland (summer 2008); chaplain at Penrose Hospital during his Novitiate year (2008-2009); Holy Redeemer Parish and School, Portland (January, 2009); Associate in the Mission Department at Holy Cross Family Ministries, North Easton, Mass. (summer 2011); and served as Assistant Director of the Old College Undergraduate Seminary Program at Notre Dame (2011-2012). He is serving at Christ the King Parish, South Bend, and will continue to serve there as a Deacon.
Jarrod began discerning his call to the priesthood after meeting Holy Cross Religious as an undergraduate at Notre Dame in 2004. “I think discerning your vocation is less about reaching a point of certainty than it is about falling in love,” he said. “For me, it was the gradual realization that my best gifts – those I always knew about and those I have discovered or had shown to me along the way – as well as my greatest weaknesses are most likely to be handled in productive ways as a brother in a community of prayer, good humor and fraternal concern. “
Visit the U.S. Province photo and video gallery to see past Final Vows and Ordinations.
