New
priests give thanks for mentors, encouragement
By Lou Baldwin
Special to The CS&T
PHILADELPHIA - Monday, May 19, would be the second full
day of priesthood for the three young men ordained for Philadelphia
by Cardinal Rigali the previous Saturday, Msgr. Timothy
Senior noted at the beginning of a Serra Clubs of Philadelphia
Mass for the ordinandi at St. John the Evangelist Church.
The new priests had undergone years of discernment and preparation,
and now, this was it. The realization that they were now
really and truly priests was just beginning to sink in.
The Mass, which was concelebrated by the new priests, St.
Charles Borromeo Seminary faculty members and other priest-friends,
was followed by a luncheon at the Union League of Philadelphia.
Each newly ordained priest related his vocation story at
the luncheon, and the stories were strikingly similar. For
each, the primary factor was invitation and encouragement
by mentors who were already priests.
Father Brian Michael Kean, whose first assignment is at
St. Joseph Parish in Downingtown, spoke of his attraction
to the priesthood as a young boy after witnessing the actions
of the priests of his home parish, St. Frances Cabrini in
Fairless Hills.
Father Kean was drawn to his vocation as he watched the
priests celebrate Mass. In time, he saw how they lived their
ministry - and their human side, too, which was important
to him. When he was first asked if he was considering the
priesthood, he said no, although “it really was in
the back of my mind,” he said. After high school and
the beginning of college, with further encouragement from
priests, he entered St. Charles.
Father Martin J. Ivanovich, whose first assignment is at
St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish in West Chester, also received
encouragement from priests in his native Poland. As a matter
of fact, the question of his vocation came up every week,
and his resolve was cemented through conferences while he
was on pilgrimage to Czestochowa.
After coming to America in his teens, he received further
encouragement from the priests at St. Josaphat Parish. After
high school, he entered St. Charles with some trepidation,
expecting everybody else to be very holy and pious. “I
found they were simple people trying to grow in holiness.
I was very glad to meet people like me,” he said.
Father Daniel M. Kredensor, whose first assignment i at
St. Andrew Parish in Newtown, recalled that when he was
a fourth-grader at Mary Mother of the Redeemer Parish School
in North Wales, his pastor, Msgr. Philip Ricci - probably
suspecting a possible vocation - invited him to become an
altar server a year earlier than was usual in the parish.
He continued to serve all through school and was especially
impressed by how his pastor lived the priesthood. With further,
gentle encouragement, after his sophomore year of college
he made his decision to enter St. Charles.
“I knew that was where I ought to be,” he said.
All three priests had special thanks for the men and women
Serrans of the sponsoring clubs: the Serra Club of Philadelphia,
Delchester Serra Club, Serra Club of Central Delaware County
and Serra Club of Northeast Philadelphia, for their many
acts of encouragement, both before and throughout the new
priest’s seminary years.
For further information on the Serra Clubs see www.catholic.org/org/serra.
Lou Baldwin is a member of St. Leo Parish and a freelance
writer.