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October 16, 2013
David Verghese, 33, was ordained a deacon for the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (the Redemptorists) in Boston on Oct. 12. Cardinal Seán O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, ordained Deacon Verghese as well as eight Jesuit deacons.
The Mass was held at St. Ignatius of Loyola Church in Chestnut Hill.
Deacon Verghese had made his final vows as a Redemptorist on Oct. 11 during a Mass at The Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Mission Church) in Boston. Provincial Superior Father Kevin Moley received his promises of poverty, chastity, obedience, and perseverance.
In the days before his ordination, he said, “I was nervous, but on the day itself I felt a wonderful sense of peace. It was the fulfillment of all that I’d dreamed of.
“Looking out on the people’s faces, we could see that they were so happy for us and genuinely in deep prayer. I felt a sense of joy, thinking about giving my life for these people.”
Attending the ordination Mass were the new deacon’s parents; brother and family; three uncles; a number of cousins, including one who is studying for the priesthood for the Diocese of Lubbock, Texas; and some family members on his mother’s side who had traveled from India.
Deacon Verghese is scheduled for ordination as a priest on May 31 in Annapolis.
A native of Leonardtown, Md., he grew up in St. Aloysius Gonzaga Parish and graduated from St. Mary’s Ryken High School. He spent a year working with the Missionaries of Charity in Washington, D.C., before entering the Redemptorist formation program in Whitestone, N.Y., in 2004.
In 2007 he became a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Washington but in 2009 rejoined the Redemptorist formation program in Boston. He completed his theological studies at Boston College in May 2012 and this summer finished a pastoral year at St. Gerard Church in Lima, Ohio.
There he visited the sick in local hospitals, taught in the parish school, and ministered to prisoners in two correctional facilities.
Deacon Verghese is now in residence at St. Mary Church in Annapolis. As a deacon, he will be able to perform baptisms, witness marriage vows, proclaim the Gospel and preach at Mass, and officiate at wakes and funerals.
View a slideshow from the ordination Mass here.