By Rose Brennan
MONROE—Jozef Ukaj, a Diocese of Bridgeport seminarian studying at Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary, is set to be ordained to the transitional diaconate this Sunday, April 7—Divine Mercy Sunday.
Following his transitional diaconate, Ukaj will be ordained to the sacred priesthood on Saturday, June 15 at St. Augustine Cathedral in Bridgeport. He will undertake the Sacrament of Holy Orders alongside David Klein, a transitional deacon from Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Stamford, currently assigned to St. Gregory the Great Parish in Danbury.
Born on March 16, 1988 in Kosovo, Ukaj is the youngest of four children. His family moved to the United States in 2000, settling in Yonkers, N.Y.
Ukaj graduated from Saunders Trade and Technical High School in Yonkers, and was a blue collar worker in Manhattan for several years before entering seminary in 2015 at the age of 27.
He attended the Cathedral House of Formation Seminary in Queens, N.Y. while enrolled at St. John’s University from 2015 to 2019. He then studied at St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers from 2019 to 2022, and then at Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Mass. from 2022 to 2024.
Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary is a unique one, as it is the only American seminary for these candidates for the priesthood who are 30 and over and is administered by diocesan priests. It is committed to “the human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation of candidates aged 30 and older.”
Ukaj said when he is ordained to the priesthood, he is looking forward to hearing confessions and offering spiritual direction to the faithful.
Ukaj will be ordained on Sunday, April 7 at 3 pm at St. Jude Parish in Monroe. All are invited to attend.
