Alumni Fr. Matthew Kane ’17, Fr. Joseph Duffy ’19, and Fr. Nate Tapsak ’19 were all ordained to the priesthood this past weekend, raising the total number of Christendom alumni priests to 109. These ordinations come on the heels of two other ordinations that have occurred so far this summer, with these five alumni now ready to go out and “restore all things in Christ” in their priestly vocations.
Fr. Matthew Kane (Credit: Max Van Hecke).
Frs. Kane and Duffy were ordained on May 29th at the Cathedral of St. Cecilia in Nebraska, joining nine other men in being ordained priests for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP). Their ordinations raise the total number of FSSP alumni ordinations to 10, joining Fr. Joseph Portzer, Fr. Chris Pelster, Fr. Gerard Saguto, Fr. Daniel Heenan, Fr. Zach Akers, Fr. John Killackey, Fr. David McWhirter, and Fr. Joseph Dalimata as priests, with several other alumni studying in their seminary for the priesthood.
Fr. Joe Duffy was ordained by His Grace Archbishop Terrence Prendergast.
Fr. Tapsak, meanwhile, was ordained a priest of the Byzantine Catholic Church on June 2 at Holy Ghost Byzantine Catholic Church in Pennsylvania. Following his time at Christendom, Fr. Tapsak studied Russian, Slavic, and Eastern European Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, later teaching English at a high school in Slovakia for a year. He began his studies at the Byzantine Catholic Seminary immediately after, graduating Summa Cum Laude with his Master’s of Divinity this past May.
Fr. Nate Tapsak with family after his ordination.
Fr. Kane, Fr. Duffy, and Fr. Tapsak are the last of five total alumni who were ordained this summer, joining Fr. Paul Kucharski ’01 and Fr. Philip Gilbert ’15.
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 109 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.
FSSP ordination photos courtesy of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.