Three MTSM Seminarians Receive Admission to Candidacy

One of the many great traditions at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology is the annual combined celebration of the feast of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (the patroness of the Seminary) and the addition of candidates for the Sacrament of Holy Orders. On Monday, December 9, The Most Rev. Dennis M. Schnurr, Archbishop of Cincinnati, welcomed three MTSM seminarians across three dioceses to the next step of their vocational journey through the Admission of Candidacy. Among the concelebrants was the Bishop of Columbus and MTSM alum The Most Rev. Earl K. Fernandes.

Those who received the admission to Candidacy included Nick Barsala (Lebanon) and William Rannells (Wilmington) from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and Jacob Wilson (Gahanna) from the Diocese of Columbus.

During his homily, Archbishop Schnurr reminded the gathered that all things are possible through the goodness of the Lord and that the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, is a model for every vocation.

The Rite Admission to Candidacy is the first of three public steps a seminarian makes before diaconate ordination. Within the Rite, seminarians publicly state his intention to receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders. The next two steps prior to the diaconate, Ministry of Lector and the Ministry of the Acolyte, happen in the subsequent years of formation.