BRIDGEPORT—On Saturday, May 19, Bishop Frank J. Caggiano will ordain three men as transitional deacons for the Diocese of Bridgeport. The Ordination Mass will be celebrated at 11 am in St. Augustine Cathedral. Traditionally, ordination as a transitional deacon is the last step before ordination to the priesthood.
“The Church has been ordaining deacons since its earliest days,” explained Father John Connaughton, director of vocations for the diocese. “The Acts of the Apostles gives the account of the first deacons, who were men chosen for their good character and ordained to provide assistance to the Apostles and their successors, the bishops, by serving the basic needs of the community—especially the poor and the most vulnerable.”
The three men to be ordained come from different backgrounds, all of which will enrich the life of faith in this diocese. “The three men who will be ordained to the transitional diaconate this year all have the hearts of servants,” said Father Connaughton. “As deacons they will also be able to proclaim the Gospel, preach, and assist the priest at the altar during Mass, as well as baptize. Next year, please God, they will be ordained priests. But priests always retain their identity as deacons and continue to bear the responsibility of service to the bishop and to Jesus’ beloved poor. A good priest must first be a good deacon, always having a servant’s heart.
“I am confident that Peter, David and Chris will live out their diaconate well, with the help of God’s grace and the prayerful support of the people of the diocese,” said Father Connaughton.
Peter Adamski
Peter Joseph Adamski, 64, one of four sons of the late Peter and Melda Adamski, grew up in Jersey City, N.J., and now considers Holy Spirit in Stamford as his home parish. He and wife, Kathy, were married over 40 years before she died in 2014. They have one son, John, who will be a lector and gift bearer at the Ordination Mass.
He holds his bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey, where he graduated in 1976, and earned an MBA from Rutgers the following year along with his C.P.A. license. He has been a CFO with Johnson & Johnson Co., worked for Bausch & Lomb eye health products in Rochester, N.Y., and was the CEO of a successful foam manufacturing company in New Jersey. Peter had thoughts of becoming a priest as a teenager, and discussed the possibility of a priestly vocation with Kathy shortly before she passed.
He will complete his seminary studies at Pope St. John XXIII Seminary in Weston, Mass., in 2019.
Deacon Adamski will assist at his first Mass and give the homily at Holy Spirit on Sunday, May 20, at 9:30 am. Msgr. Kevin Royal, Holy Spirit’s pastor, will be the principal celebrant.
“Besides the sacraments,” said Deacon Adamski. “I think about being able to minister to couples about marriage, whether they‘re contemplating marriage or having troubles within their marriage, and being able to minister to the sick. I have a rich experience across all of those fronts that I can draw on, to help in my ministry. I really feel God is calling me by name to his holy priesthood. I know that what God wants of me, and any of us, is what will help me to help others, make me happiest and lead me to heaven.”
Christopher Ford
Christopher Joseph Ford, 28, was born in Bridgeport on October 2, 1989. The only boy in a family with three sisters, he grew up in Naugatuck, attending St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School and Naugatuck High School. His parents, Terence and Teresa Ford, live in Naugatuck and are members of St. Francis.
He graduated from Southern CT State University in New Haven in 2011. While attending Southern, he worked for candidates for the U.S. Senate and CT governorship. Upon graduation, he worked for Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA, while obtaining a masters degree in education from Kent State University in Ohio.
He entered St. John Fisher Seminary in 2015. Deacon Ford will earn his M.Div./S.T.B. degree from St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y. in 2019.
Deacon Ford will assist at his first Mass at Holy Family Parish in Fairfield on May 20 at 11 am. Father Norm Guilbert, Holy Family’s pastor, will be the main celebrant. Deacon Ford will give the homily.
“One of the most difficult things in life is to follow the will of God, even when we have clarity on what it is,” he says. “I felt the call to serve God as a priest for most of my life, but spent most of that time focused on what I wanted, rather than what God wanted for me—and what would ultimately bring me my greatest fulfillment and happiness. These past five years of formation have been a great blessing, learning to truly receive the never-ending mercy of God. I approach my ordination as a deacon with an ever-deepening awareness of the providence of God in my life, a consoling faith in the reality of his presence and mercy, and a growing desire to reflect the love he has continually shown me to those he calls me to serve in his name.”
David Roman
David Roman, Jr., 33, the first of three sons of David and Yvonne Roman, was born in Waterbury on April 18, 1985. He grew up in that city, he and his family attended St. Patrick Parish.
He graduated from Western Connecticut State College in Danbury with a B.A. in history in 2008 and earned a master’s degree in education from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield.
He taught at St. Joseph School in Danbury, and served as youth minister at St. Joseph Parish and Notre Dame of Easton Parish prior to entering St. John Fisher Seminary in Stamford. He will complete his theological studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., next year.
Deacon Roman will assist at his first Mass in St. Joseph Church on May 20 at 12 noon. Father Samuel Scott, pastor, will be the celebrant.
“What’s drawn me to the priesthood has always been the call to love,” says Deacon Roman. “I entered seminary with a desire to lovingly serve the Lord, and my brothers and sisters in Christ, with my whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. During my time in formation, that capacity to love has grown exponentially. And in my priestly ministry I hope to be a living witness of the Greatest Commandment so that others might encounter the same mercy, joy, and consolation of the Resurrected Jesus that I’ve encountered.”
