NEW CANAAN—On, Saturday, May 21, Bishop Frank J. Caggiano will ordain six men as transitional deacons for the Diocese of Bridgeport. The Ordination Mass will be celebrated at 11 am at St. Aloysius Church in New Canaan. Ricardo Batista Comim, James DiVasto, Férry Galbert, Miguel Betancur Lenis, Andrew LaFleur and Matthew Loman will all be ordained.
Ordination as a transitional deacon is the last step before ordination to the priesthood, which typically occurs a year later after additional pastoral, liturgical and educational preparation.
Ricardo Batista Comim was born in São Paulo, Brazil to Valdinei Comim and Marcia dos Santos Batista Comim. He currently resides in Stamford. Batista Comim attended Seton University in South Orange, New Jersey from which he graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in theology.
“My vocation was born through the Neocatechumenal Way community,” explained Batista Comim, who said it was through this charism that God called him to the journey of priesthood.
“I grew up in a simple Catholic family in Jundiai in São Paulo state, Brazil. As an only child, I was always searching for happiness and meaning in my life. I had everything, a good job, friends, and a good career but nothing could satisfy me.” When Batista Comim heard the “Kerygma,” he realized that God loved him the way that he was.
“I always thought that a priest’s life was a sad and lonely life, which I was not looking forward to. However, a missionary priest from the Neocatechumenal Way formed at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary of Brasilia in Brazil came to my parish on a Saturday night and he shared his experience of his mission,” Batista Comim said. “I was moved by his happiness; I could see that he had meaning in his life. So, I asked him, ‘Are you satisfied with your life by being a priest?’ He said with a great joy, ‘Yes, because the grace of God is enough for me.’ And from that moment I understood that God was calling me to a beautiful mission, to be a witness to his love and be grateful for what he has done in my life.”
James DiVasto was born in Stamford, Conn. to James and Lena DiVasto. DiVasto graduated from Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. He served as a complaint administrator for the Knights of Columbus Supreme Office for 37 years.
In May 2018, DiVasto found himself overwhelmed by thoughts and feelings that God might be calling him to the priesthood. After four years of priestly formation as a seminarian for the Diocese of Bridgeport, DiVasto has come to realize God had been calling and forming him to be a loving servant all along through every person, place and event of his 63 years of life.
“With ordination day to the diaconate so close, I’m just very, very grateful, humbled and thrilled,” shared DiVasto. “I’m here today in no small part because of all the prayerful support of my family, friends, brother seminarians, religious sisters, priests, deacons, everyone at Pope Saint John XXIII National Seminary, and especially Bishop Caggiano. What a gift! Thanks be to God.”
DiVasto’s first Mass as a deacon will be celebrated by Father Joseph Gill at St. Jude Church in Monroe on May 22, 2022 at 11:30 am.
Férry Galbert was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti to Soimil Saint Preuve and Yvonne Lops. He currently resides in Norwalk and is a parishioner of the Basilica of St. John the Evangelist in Stamford. He graduated from Norwalk Community College in 2014 with an associate degree in nursing and Sacred Heart University in 2019 with a bachelor’s in philosophy. He has worked as a data register at the basilica and as an RN at Stamford Hospital.
Galbert reflected on the words of Jesus to His disciples, “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit.” “These words also remain effective and applicable today as I reflect upon my journey to answering the call,” said Galbert. “I am forever grateful to the Holy Spirit and to our Blessed Mother for their guidance in my life and for working on my heart to give the Lord a chance to reveal His love for me and to realize that He was already there as ‘the answer’ to all the longings of my heart.”
Galbert’s call started when he was a kid desiring to be an altar server. He later discovered a desire to
evangelize and engage in missionary work during his junior year in high school. While working at his home parish, he began to think about the possibility of the priesthood as he encountered and witnessed parish priests ministering to the community.
“During my time working at Stamford Hospital as a registered nurse, I began to really reflect on the Lord’s call on my life, as I became more aware of the limitations of science and of the human experience of suffering,” said Galbert. “It was there that I began to truly surrender to the Lord and looked to Him for the answers. My vocation to the priesthood was a process that kept unfolding as I was drawn by the love of Christ who desired to make use of my life by making me an instrument in His Church.”
Galbert’s first Mass as a deacon will be concelebrated by Msgr. Stephen DiGiovanni and Father Cyprian Lapastina at St. John’s Basilica in Stamford at 12 noon on May 22, 2022.
Miguel Betancur Lenis was born in Medellin, Colombia to Humberto de Jesus Betancur Piedrahita and Miryam Stella Lenis Velez. He currently resides in Danbury and is a parishioner of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. He has received his theology degree while studying at St. John Fisher Seminary.
“As the apostles felt the call of Jesus to be fishers of men, I also feel that Jesus calls me to be his disciple and to continue his mission of spreading the Gospel throughout the world,” said Betancur Lenis.
Betancur Lenis was in high school when he began to realize the path that God was calling him to. A teacher described priests as ‘pontiff,’ explaining that priests in ancient Rome received that name.
Betancur Lenis connected with the Latin root of that definition.
“Pontiff comes from the word pontis, which means bridge,” explained Betancur Lenis. “I realized that I was meant to be that bridge, a bridge between men and God. Jesus called me to be His instrument, to bring His love to the world and to help people reach heaven where all of us will find true happiness. As a priest, I want to be God’s instrument of salvation, a bridge by which God can reach men with his eternal love, and a bridge over which men can reach God and enjoy heaven in his presence.”
Betancur Lenis’ first Mass as a deacon will be celebrated by Very Reverend Arthur Mollenhauer and Father John J. Perez at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Danbury at 6 pm on May 22, 2022.
Andrew LaFleur was born in Bridgeport to James LaFleur and Pamela Smith LaFleur. He currently resides in Bridgeport where he attends St. Ann Parish. He graduated from Sacred Heart University in 2019.
LaFleur said his vocation story is rooted in the parish setting, specifically in his home parish of St. Ann’s in Bridgeport. “It was through seeing the priest at work in the parish, specifically seeing him administer the sacraments, that I first started hearing the call to the priesthood and became drawn to the priesthood,” said LaFleur, who explained that it was through that constant call and contact with the life of the parish that he was able to learn more about who the priest is and, with God’s help, discern his vocation.
LaFleur’s first Mass as a deacon will be celebrated by Father Eric Silva at St. Ann Parish at 9 am on May 22, 2022.
Matthew Loman was born in Derby, Conn. to Wallace Loman and Irene Lazowski Loman. He currently resides in Derby, where he attends St. Michael the Archangel Parish. Loman graduated from Southern Connecticut State University in 2000 with a bachelor’s in geography and elementary education. He then received a Juris Doctor from Quinnipiac University School of Law in 2005. In his work experience he has served as a camp counselor, teacher and associate attorney.
“The Church has always been the center of my life,” said Loman. “From the time I served as an altar boy and a young reader until now, the Lord has been calling me to serve as one of His priests. I am humbled to receive a call from Christ to the sacred priesthood and thankful for all the blessings and graces He has bestowed upon me as I have journeyed through life.”
