Four men profess vows and become Oblates of St. Francis de Sales |
 |
 |
|
Monday, 14 September 2009 05:00 |
TOLEDO—Four young men professed vows of poverty, chastity and obedience Aug. 22 and became members of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales.
Four men professed vows and became members of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales Aug. 22. They are, from left, Joseph Newman, David Patterson, Robert Lockwood and Erik Ake. (Photo courtesy of Oblates of St. Francis de Sales)
|
The ceremony took place during the celebration of Mass in the chapel of Toledo St. Francis de Sales High School. To prepare for this event, each man lived for one year with Oblates as a first-year student or postulant and then spent last year as a novice, living in community and studying the Oblate Rule and other material necessary to make profession of vows.
Of the four who took vows, two had been members of the teaching faculty of St. Francis for the 2007-2008 school year. Another was originally from Australia and had worked for several summers at the Oblates’ Camp DeSales in Brooklyn, Mich., and another is originally from Mexico and lived and worked in the Oblate parish in Adrian, Mich., as part of his training. All newly professed men have a bachelor’s degree and two of them have master’s degrees.
The four who took vows are:
Joseph A. Newman, son of Michael and Andrea Newman of Toledo. Mr. Newman is a 1999 graduate of Christ the King School and a 2003 graduate of St. Francis de Sales High School. In June of this year his older brother, Michael, was ordained a priest in the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. Father Michael Newman was the homilest for the profession ceremony of his younger brother.
Robert A. Lockwood, another of the newly professed, was a teacher at St. Francis for the 2007-2008 school year, and is originally from Delaware where he graduated from the Oblate High School in Wilmington.
Both Mr. Newman and Mr. Lockwood and studying for a Master of Divinity degree at St. Michael’s in Toronto.
David Patterson was born and raised in Australia. He became familiar with the Oblates when he came to the United States a number of years ago to work at the Oblates’ former summer camp in Michigan. He will teach at Lumen Christi High School in Jackson, Mich.
Erik Jorge Ake is originally from Mexico and became familiar with the Oblates through the work of Oblate of St. Francis de Sales Father William Auth in the Yucatan. Mr. Ake will complete a year of special studies this year at Siena Heights University in Adrian, Mich.
In addition to their high school in Toledo, Oblates serve as pastor and associate pastor of Toledo Gesu and pastor of Toledo St. Pius X. They also serve at Lumen Christi High School in Jackson, Mich., and several parishes in the Archdiocese of Detroit and the dioceses of Lansing and Kalamazoo.
Oblate of St. Francis de Sales Father Marty Lukas, the vocation director for the Oblates, runs a non-residential program of vocation discernment for high school graduates and college students who may be interested in pursuing a life as an Oblate priest or brother. He may be contacted at 2043 Parkside Blvd., Toledo, Ohio 43607 or mlosfs@aol.com.
|
|
Last Updated on Wednesday, 02 June 2010 19:07 |
