Bishop to Ordain One Priest and Three Deacons

May 26, 2017, WORCESTER, MA – The Office for Vocations has announced that on Saturday, June 3 at 10:00 am Most Rev. Robert J. McManus will ordain one priest, one transitional deacon and two permanent deacons for the Diocese of Worcester.  The men to be ordained include Deacon Henry Ramirez to the priesthood, Mr. Javier DeJesus Julio to the transitional diaconate and Mr. Paul F.X. Covino and Mr. Stephen T. Kohut to the permanent diaconate. The Liturgy will take place at the Cathedral of St. Paul, corner of Chatham and High Streets, Worcester to which the public is invited. The Church is handicapped accessible from the Chatham Street courtyard.
            The Ordination Liturgy will be streamed LIVE on the internet and a link is available on the homepage of worcesterdiocese.org. It will also be archived for later viewing from that link.

Deacon Henry Ramirez is the son of Myriam Pínzon and the late Alfonso Ramírez. He was born in 1975 in Bucaramanga in Colombia. He began discerning a vocation to the priesthood with the Consolata Missionaries who administered his parish. As a seminarian, in 1998 he attended Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Medellin, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1999.  In 2010 he got his theology degree from Fundacion Universitaria Luis Amigo. In 2014 he came to Worcester to study English at Clark University while a continuing his formation at the Holy Name of Jesus House of Studies.  He then graduated from St. Mary’s Seminary Baltimore, MD and holds a Masters of Divinity as well as a Bachelor in Sacred Theology. His local parish is St. George in Worcester. In addition to serving at St. George, he also served at St. John Paul II, Southbridge. As Father Ramirez, he will preside at Mass on Sunday, June 4 at 10:00 am at St. George Church, 40 Brattle Street in Worcester. A light reception will follow to which all in attendance are invited.

Mr. Javier De Jesus Julio was born in 1979 in Colombia. He is the son of Olegario Julio and Belarmina De Arco. His home parish is Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Puerto Libertador, Cordoba, Colombia. After high school, he worked as a volunteer at a Catholic organization in Colombia which was founded in Spain by a Catholic priest, and was a director of that organization from 1999 to 2005. He holds a certificate in psychotherapy from Avre Institute in Montería, Córdoba, Colombia. He entered the Missionary Servants of the Holy Trinity in 2005. He served as a missionary to indigenous people in the Amazon jungle in 2011 as part of his seminary formation.  He earned bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and theology from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Medellin, Colombia. Mr. Julio provided religious education and spiritual formation in parishes for the Diocese of Medellin in 2012 and 2013.
            He came to the U.S. in 2014 and continued his spiritual formation at Holy Name of Jesus House of Studies while studying English at Clark University for two years.  This fall, he will complete his coursework for the Masters of Divinity at St. Mary’s Seminary Baltimore, MD.  His local parish is St. John, Guardian of Our Lady in Clinton. Along with Clinton, he has also served an assignment at Our Lady of the Lake in Leominster. As Deacon Julio, he will serve as deacon at a Mass in Spanish on Sunday, June 4 at 11:00 am at Our Lady of Providence Church 228 Lincoln Street in Worcester. He will also serve as deacon at the Mass on Saturday, June 10 at 4:00 pm at St. John, Guardian of Our Lady Parish 80 Union Street in Clinton.

Mr. Paul F.X. Covino was born in Methuen, MA in 1958 and is the son of the late Benjamin and Lorraine Covino. His home parish is St. Patrick, Whitinsville. A graduate of St. John High School, Shrewsbury, he received a Bachelor’s Degree from Georgetown University and a Masters Degree from the University of Notre Dame. He is currently the Director of Campus Ministry at Assumption College and formerly director of Campus Ministry at the College of the Holy Cross. He has also worked at Georgetown and Boston College. He has published articles in several Catholic liturgical journals and is the editor and principal author of “Celebrating Marriage” published by Oregon Catholic Press. He and his wife Anne live in Worcester and they are parent sot four adult children and one grandchild. He will serve as deacon at the Mass of Thanksgiving on Sunday, June 4 at St. Patrick parish in Whitinsville. Attendees are invited to a reception which follows the Mass.

Mr. Stephen Thompson Kohut was born in Beverly, MA in 1968 and is the son on Edward and P. Dayle Kohut. His home parish is St. Joseph Basilica in Webster. After graduating from Beverly High School, he received his bachelors from Merrimack Collge and a Master from Anna Maria College. Hs is currently a technician for Verizon where he has worked for over 20 years and is also a Spiritual Grief Counselor at Matarese Funeral Home. He is the past President of the Serra Club of Worcester County and has been activ eon both the Partners in Charity and the Celebrate Priesthood advisory committees.He and his wife Sylwia live in Webster with their daughter.  He will serve as deacon at the Mass of Thanksgiving on Sunday, June 4 at 11:00 am at Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish, Worcester.  The public is invited to the reception which follows the Mass.

Current Statistics
            In the Diocese of Worcester, there are 117 priests in active ministry within the diocese and 50 retired priests. In addition to Deacon Julio, there are 17 men in active formation in colleges and seminaries. According to the 2016 Official Catholic Directory, there are 26,199 diocesan priests serving in the United States. According to CARA at Georgetown University, there are 343 men expected to be ordained to the diocesan priesthood in the United States this year.
            In addition to the two men being ordained as permanent deacons on June 3, there are 87 active permanent deacons serving in our parishes and other ministries and 28 retired deacons. Fourteen men are currently enrolled in the Diaconate program of study and formation.  According to the 2016 Official Catholic Directory, there are 18,792 deacons in the United States.  Like their brother priests, each is incardinated or officially tied to a diocese.

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