October 21, 2026

Seminarians Ladouceur Flairssaint (Ogdensburg), Donvito Cortese (Wheeling-Charleston) and Gills Phillips (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands) were admitted to Candidacy for Holy Orders on October 2 at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus Ohio.

That admission took place during Evening Prayer in St. Turibius Chapel, by Bishop Earl K. Fernandes of the Diocese of Columbus and Josephinum vice chancellor.

In an official sense, through the Rite, the Church numbers and enrolls each man among the candidates for the diaconate and priesthood. When calling men for ordination, a bishop chooses from among those enrolled as candidates.

During the Rite, each man was called forward by name; in response he rose and answered “present.” This act is the moment at which he declares publicly his desire to be bound in Holy Orders for the service of God and mankind. It is a self-offering of the candidate; a manifestation of his will.

Candidacy also is a reception of that offering by the Church and a new commitment by the candidate to care for his vocation.