Brennan Ferris Ordained to the Transitional Diaconate
The seminarian for the Diocese of Wilmington will be ordained to the transitional diaconate on May 15, 2021 at St. Peter Cathedral in Wilmington by Bishop Malooly.
He’s on track for his priestly ordination next year, when he will be just 26 years old. While that used to be the norm for men entering the priesthood, the numbers have shifted over the decades. According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the average age of ordinands in 2018 was 35.
In fact, Ferris said, he is the youngest seminarian in his class at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore by a month. But six years into his studies, he knows the commitment that he is about to make, and he isn’t looking back.
Ferris describes himself a St. Elizabeth School lifer, from kindergarten through 12th grade. It was there that he first felt the pull of the priesthood. He said the priests he talked to were all helpful. He mentioned his pastor and current director of vocations, Father Norman Carroll; Father Charles Dillingham, the pastor at St. Elizabeth before Father Carroll and a former member of the diocesan vocations team; Father Anthony Giamello, formerly an associate at St. Elizabeth; and Father James Kirk, pastor of St. Mary Magdalen with whom Ferris talked at a youth pilgrimage while a senior in high school.
In a recent interview, Ferris recalled a conversation with a priest about his age, “and he said, ‘I’m giving my best years to the priesthood, to God, to the church.’ I’m really excited about it. I’m young, so hopefully I have the energy. Sometimes, I do think I am relatively young for this, but I guess that’s just how God works.”
Ferris describes himself a St. Elizabeth School lifer, from kindergarten through 12th grade. It was there that he first felt the pull of the priesthood. He said the priests he talked to were all helpful. He mentioned his pastor and current director of vocations, Father Norman Carroll; Father Charles Dillingham, the pastor at St. Elizabeth before Father Carroll and a former member of the diocesan vocations team; Father Anthony Giamello, formerly an associate at St. Elizabeth; and Father James Kirk, pastor of St. Mary Magdalen with whom Ferris talked at a youth pilgrimage while a senior in high school.
“When I more or less really believed I was getting this call to the priesthood, once I brought it to their attention, they were super-helpful,” he said.
Father Carroll said it has been “a joy” watching Ferris grow in his vocation, which began through prayer.
“Brennan has wonderfully responded with his own passion and faith to meet the needs of God’s people,” Father Carroll said.
He added that Ferris has “an interesting sense of humor and a simplicity that will serve him and the church well.”
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