Bishop to ordain priests at Epiphany Cathedral on July 15
All are welcome to attend special Mass
Venice, Fla. – Most Rev. Frank J. Dewane, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Venice in Florida, will ordain Transitional Deacons Alejandro Giraldo Roldán and Daniel Scanlan to the Priesthood at 11 a.m., Saturday, July 15, Epiphany Cathedral, 350 Tampa Ave.W., Venice.
The Ordination to the Priesthood is considered one of the pivotal moments in the life of a Diocese.
“This is one of the most beautiful and rarely seen Sacraments in the Church,” Bishop Dewane explained. “The Diocese of Venice relies on dedicated men who commit their lives to serving God; the Diocese is blessed that these men have heard the call of the Lord, and responded.”
During Ordination to the Priesthood, Roldán and Scanlan will freely present themselves to serve God, the Church and the Bishop of the Diocese of Venice and his successors. They will also make a renewed commitment to celibacy and promise obedience.
Deacon Roldán, 29, a native of Colombia, approaches the Ordination with great inner peace, knowing that he is blessed by gifts granted to him by God after nearly 11 years of discerning his vocation. “It is a gift I receive from God, not because of my abilities but because of His great mercy and love towards me.”
A pivotal moment in the life of Deacon Alejandro was receiving his First Holy Communion, what he called one of the happiest days of his life. “It was at that moment and going forward that I experienced the love of God in a special way. That awakened my desire to become a priest.”
At the age of 17, Deacon Alejandro discerned a vocation with a religious order for a time, but the Lord allowed him to make a detour along the way. He ultimately continued at university studying theology and earning a degree as a lay person. Unfulfilled in life, God continued to call him toward a priestly vocation, and this led him to the join the Diocese of Venice as a seminarian in 2019. He first studied at St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami before going on to St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach.
As a seminarian, Deacon Roldán served in a pastoral assignment at St. Mary, Star of the Sea Parish on Longboat Key, and a pastoral year at St. Thomas More Parish in Sarasota. Deacon Roldán will be vested during the ordination by the Parochial Vicar of St. Thomas More, Rev. Lawton Lang, and will also celebrate his first Mass as a priest at St. Thomas More, on Sunday, July 16 at noon.
Deacon Scanlan, 28, was born and raised in Fort Myers in a large family, the seventh of 11 children, before they moved to Ave Maria. When he was 13, he had his first thought about becoming a priest when he heard his oldest sibling tell the family about his own discernment to the priesthood.
“I think I was fascinated because I never considered how one became a priest. I didn’t even know what a seminary was … this was a big moment in my life because the thought that my own brother might become a priest made this vocation become real and personal to me.”
It wasn’t until later in high school when the idea of a discernment surfaced again. It occurred during a Steubenville youth conference in Orlando, when at the end, all men and women who were discerning were asked to come up to the stage.
“My heart began pounding when I heard those words. I never really spoke about the priesthood to anyone and when they invited everyone up: I had to make a choice… This was the first time I had to acknowledge to myself: ‘yeah… I am discerning the priesthood.'”
Deacon Daniel first studied at Ave Maria University before deciding to follow his heart to become a Diocesan seminarian at St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami. He later studied in Rome at the Pontifical North American College and received a degree in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. Most recently, he initiated his studies in moral theology at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce. Following his ordination, he will transfer to the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Washington, D.C., to study for his licentiate of Sacred Theology of Marriage and Family.
Since joining the Diocese as a seminarian, Deacon Scanlan has served in pastoral assignments at the following Parishes: St. Vincent de Paul in Fort Myers; Ss. Peter and Paul the Apostles in Bradenton; St. Francis Xavier in Fort Myers; St. Joseph in Bradenton; and St. Katharine Drexel in Cape Coral.
Deacon Scanlan will be vested during the Ordination by his eldest brother, Father Eric Scanlan, Pastor of Incarnation Parish in Sarasota, and will celebrate his first Mass as a priest on Sunday, July 16 at 10 a.m. at Ave Maria Catholic Church in Ave Maria.
All are welcome and encouraged to attend the Ordination, said Bishop Dewane. “It is important that the faithful support each Ordination as the Priests being ordained are a future link to the continuation of the Sacraments,” the Bishop explained.
The Ordination will also be livestreamed via the Cathedral Facebook page at facebook.com/epiphanycathedral, or the Cathedral website, epiphanycathedral.org.
While Deacons Roldán and Scanlan are being ordained on July 15, there are men in the Diocese of Venice who are at various stages in their priestly formation, either in college or at a seminary where they continue their studies toward the ordained priesthood. The seminarians are currently engaged in various summer pastoral assignments. Please remember them in your prayers.
Seminarians are supported by the Diocese of Venice through the Catholic Faith Appeal, the Knights of Columbus, the Council of Catholic Women and the generosity of individual parishes and parishioners. Parishioners from around the Diocese are encouraged to help support the seminarians in their studies and choice of vocation.
To contribute to the education of the seminarians, send a check to the Diocese of Venice, Office of Vocations, 1000 Pinebrook Road, Venice, FL 34285 or go to dioceseofvenice.org/ways-to-give. For more information about the seminarians or Vocations, contact Father Roser at 941-484-9543.
About the Diocese of Venice in Florida
The Diocese of Venice in Florida was established by Pope Saint John Paul II in 1984 and today includes 61 parishes, 15 schools and serves an estimated 250,000 Catholics in 10 counties. Presently, the Most Rev. Frank J. Dewane is the Bishop of the Diocese. For more information on the Diocese of Venice in Florida, visit dioceseofvenice.org.
Source: Diocese of Venice in Florida