Charleston bishop to ordain three priests

Charleston, S.C., Jun 30, 2011 / 23:01 pm

Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone of Charleston will ordain three priests on July 1 for a diocese where Catholics are a small minority.

“The Diocese of Charleston rejoices at the ordination of these three men as priests of Jesus Christ,” the bishop said in a June 29 statement.

The three men to be ordained are Deacons S. Matthew Gray of St. Peter’s Parish in Columbia, William S. Hearne of River Forest, Ill., and David D. Nerbun of St. Joseph’s Parish in Columbia.

Bishop Guglielmone said the ordinands are “examples to each of us of following the Lord’s call and of openness to service among God’s people.”

The ordination Mass will take place at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Charleston at 6 p.m. Friday.  
The new priests will be assigned to serve as assistant pastors in parishes around the state.

The Diocese of Charleston, which encompasses all of South Carolina, has 13 seminarians in formation.

A 2009 fact sheet from the diocese said there are about 185,000 Catholics in the state, about four percent of the population.