Alumni Fr. Paul Kucharski ’01 and Fr. Philip Gilbert ’15 were both ordained to the priesthood this past Saturday, May 25. Together, the two raised the total number of Christendom alumni priests to 106, ready to go out and fulfill the college’s mission to “restore all things in Christ.”
Fr. Kucharski was one of six men ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of New York this past Saturday, with Cardinal Timothy Dolan ordaining Fr. Kucharski. A graduate of Christendom’s Class of 2001, Fr. Kucharski spent his first 17 years following his time at Christendom as a teacher, earning his doctorate in philosophy at Fordham before teaching at Manhattanville College. In 2018, Fr. Kucharski began to discern a call to the priesthood, joining the seminary in 2019. Five years later, Fr. Kucharski is now a priest, eager to serve the faithful in New York.
Fr. Paul Kucharski ’01 gives a blessing following his ordination.
Fr. Gilbert, meanwhile, was ordained a priest of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church at Holy Transfiguration Monastery in California on Saturday. After earning his Bachelor’s from Christendom in 2015, Fr. Gilbert immediately began his journey toward the priesthood, first earning his Master’s of Divinity from the Catholic University of America in 2018. He later moved to Ukraine, earning his Master’s in theology from the Ukrainian Catholic University in 2020. Fr. Gilbert has served as a deacon the last few years, before being ordained in front of family and friends this past weekend.
Fr. Kucharski and Fr. Gilbert are the first of five Christendom alumni being ordained this summer, with Deacons Matthew Kane ’17 and Joseph Duffy ’19 being ordained for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) on May 29 and Deacon Nate Tapsak ’19 being ordained a priest of the Byzantine Catholic Church on June 2.
In 45+ years, Christendom has been blessed to see many religious vocations amongst its alumni. While Christendom was founded to help form lay people who would then impact every area of society, the college’s faithful Catholic liberal arts education has helped many alumni discover a religious vocation while they are students. In total, Christendom currently has 106 priests, 53 sisters, 5 brothers, 3 transitional deacons, 1 permanent deacon, 2 consecrated virgins, 9 men currently studying for the priesthood, and 581 alumna-to-alumnus marriages.