From
the Brook
A Weekly Profile of Members
of the Ordination Class of 2008
from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Wynnewood
Deacon
Daniel Michael Kredensor
Age: 27
Where Born: Abington Memorial Hospital, Abington
Where Baptized: St. Luke the Evangelist Church, Glenside
Parents, Siblings: Eugene and Mary Kredensor; a younger
brother, Francis
Home Parish: Mary, Mother of the Redeemer, North Wales
Current Diaconate Assignment: Maternity of the Blessed
Virgin Mary Parish, Philadelphia
Grade School/Year Graduated: St. Stanislaus Elementary
School, Lansdale, 1995
High School/Year Graduated: Lansdale Catholic High School,
1999
College/Major/Degree/Year Graduated:
• Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio; philosophy major,
theology minor
• St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Wynnewood: majored in philosophy
and theology — earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in
2003 and a master of divinity degree in 2007
St. Charles Borromeo Seminary entrance date: August 2001
Describe your earliest memory of going to church.
My earliest memory of going to church was at St. David’s in Willow
Grove as I walked in with my parents and grandmother for Mass.
I was 5 years old.
At what age and how were you first called to the priesthood, and
what was the deciding moment that led you to enter the Seminary?
I felt a calling to the priesthood at age 13, while I was in the eighth
grade. Ever since then, I always felt called to the priesthood.
The deciding factor for me was on a discernment retreat at the Seminary.
After a Holy Hour had ended, I felt at that point that God was calling
me to focus on my discernment to the priesthood and to ask the vocation
director for an application.
Who inspired and influenced you the most in your decision to enter
the Seminary, and how?
My pastor, Msgr. Philip Ricci, has been one of the greatest influences
in my life and helped me understand my decision to enter the Seminary.
His greatest quote that he would tell me before I entered was, “If
God is calling you to the priesthood, I will always be there for you to
answer questions, but I will never push you into something.”
The other great influence for my decision to enter the Seminary was the
late Father Robert Burns, a priest for the Diocese of Harrisburg whose
home parish was Mary, Mother of the Redeemer.
He told me, “Danny, if you feel that God is calling you, He will
support you and walk with you through all your days at the Seminary.”
Were there any particular moving or grace-filled events in those
beginning days or years at the Seminary? This last year?
There were many grace-filled moments at the Seminary when I first entered,
especially many people telling me how much they were praying for me every
day.
This last year, as a deacon, I felt there were many grace-filled moments
— especially with the people of my diaconate parish of Maternity
B.V.M., and being able to walk with them in their faith journey.
What will you miss most about St. Charles Borromeo Seminary?
The greatest thing I will miss as I leave St. Charles is the fraternity
of the seminarians and the ability to knock on a door and talk to a friend
who is down the hallway.
What advice do you have for the current underclassmen about their
remaining years at St. Charles?
The greatest advice I can give to the guys is for them to persevere in
the discernment of their vocation. They should keep their daily Holy Hour,
Liturgy of the Hours and the rosary, because these are what will strengthen
them every day.
What advice would you give to seminarians who will enter St. Charles
for the first time this fall?
I would advise them, in their own personal prayer, to ask God to give
them the grace to be completely open to their discernment and to the Seminary
formation program.
What do you do for recreation?
I like to go hiking with my family in the state and national parks. I
enjoy biking around the Philadelphia area. I also enjoy taking day trips
to various sites and seeing shows here in Philadelphia and in New York.
People would be surprised to know what about you?
I have been a volunteer firefighter for 10 years for the Fire Department
of Montgomery Township.
What are your favorite devotions and why?
My favorite devotions are the rosary, Eucharistic Adoration and the Novena
to St. Therese of the Little Flower.
What does the priesthood mean to you?
The call to the priesthood is a way in which Christ shares Himself with
the Church.
We as priests will assist the people of the Church to come closer to Christ
by the offering of the sacraments and our example.
What do you think is the greatest challenge facing the Church
today?
The greatest challenge facing the Church today is the increasing secularism
and relativism in our culture and how it is affecting everyone.
What is your greatest hope for the Church?
My greatest hope for the Church is the youth and how they are thirsting
to know more about God and what are the teachings of the Church.
Their ability to ask questions of how they can follow Christ and be faithful
Catholics is very edifying. They are also not afraid of the truth.
What will you, as a priest, do to combat negative secular influences
that attempt to divert people’s attention from Christ?
I will preach the truth and by the offering of the sacraments, lead people
who have gone astray from the truth back to Christ.
Besides prayer and your example, what is the first thing you,
as a priest, plan to do to bring others closer to Christ?
To bring others closer to Christ, I have asked God to keep me faithful
to Him and the Church, and to be a man of prayer by following His example.
— Compiled by CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine
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