Bishop Thomas John Paprocki will ordain transitional Deacons Albert Allen, Zachary Edgar and Scott Snider to the priesthood on Saturday, May 26, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield. The liturgy will begin at 10:30 a.m.
Deacon Albert Allen
At age 62, Deacon Allen is the oldest of the three men in his diocesan ordination class. He studied at Sacred Heart School of Theology, in Hales Corner, Wis., a late vocation seminary where the average age of seminarians is 45.
A native of Hannibal, Mo., Deacon Allen grew up in a large family. "There were 10 of us children, but not all are still living. When my father passed away in 1969, my mother still had seven children living at home," says Deacon Allen.
He went to Blessed Sacrament Parish Grade School and Hannibal Senior High School.
"When I was at Blessed Sacrament I remember having vivid thoughts of being a priest. But I think we are all afraid to take that first step unless there is some encouragement for us. I do remember my grandmother telling me, 'You know, you should be a priest.' But as I got older, I think even she gave up."
After graduating from high school, he worked at several different jobs, then went to work in the optical business, became an optician, and ended up moving to Springfield, where he has lived and worked as a national certified ABOC optician and business partner owner for much of his adult life.
"I've always been active in my parish church, helping out, serving on committees, and wherever I was needed. But as I got older, I felt the window of opportunity was getting smaller and smaller for me to become a priest.
"Then Bishop George J. Lucas initiated the 'Called by Name' program. He sent cards out to parishes, asking people to recommend men who might be candidates for the priesthood. He was given my name, and he invited me to a gathering.
"Bishop Lucas and my parish provided the final push for me. I finally made the decision to do it."
He has spent the last four years at Sacred Heart School of Theology. "The wonderful thing about this institution, is that they realize that the older population — the more mature population — does not learn in the same way that the younger ones do. There is sort of a misconception that there is a path that everyone follows. The church requires a certain amount of education for everyone, but a lot of our reflection work is done in papers. We have a variety of professors — priests of the Sacred Heart, Salvatorians, lay people, some School Sisters of St. Francis. Vesting me will be Father Michael Weldon, OFM, my spiritual director, in Wisconsin. He teaches priestly formation at Hales Corner."
Deacon Zachary Edgar
With an August birthday, Deacon Zachary Edgar, at 26, is about as young as a transitional deacon can be to be ordained a priest. A native of Vandalia, Deacon Edgar grew up with a mother and grandmother whom he credits for teaching him "how to pray."
He spent three years as an elementary education major at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, before entering the seminary.
"I had known Father John Titus through my Diocesan Youth Group days, and knew Father Chris House for years as well," Deacon Edgar says. "Father Titus kept slowly planting the seed for my vocation. He came to visit me on campus in Edwardsville in 2005, and convinced me ... to visit the seminary. That was all I needed. I began at Cardinal Glennon College in 2006."
He finished his undergraduate degree at Cardinal Glennon in St. Louis, and earned his philosophy degree from St. Louis University. In his first summer as a seminarian at Kenrick School of Theology, he still found time to manage and coach the local American Legion baseball team in Vandalia.
"I'm a big Cardinals fan. I saw both World Series — in the fall of '06 and last summer, when they won the World Series. I like to tell people they brought me in (the seminary) and they sent me out."
Father Stephen Sotiroff, his pastor for 16 years when he was growing up, will vest him at his ordination. "He was a great example for me," says Deacon Edgar. "We had such a strong youth group in my junior high and high school years."
He went on his first Teens Encounter Christ with (now Deacon) Denny Baker, when he was a high school sophomore, and has been going on TECs ever since. "Denny vested me at my diaconate ordination. On June 23-25 I have my first TEC as a priest."
Deacon Edgar says he has had good examples to follow in his life. His mother and godmother, who team-taught PSR at Vandalia for over 25 years, "would always write prayer intentions on the board at the start of class, to help students learn to get in the habit of praying," says Deacon Edgar. "I used that my first year in the seminary, when I taught 27 second-graders (in a parish) in Imperial, Mo., prepare for their first reconciliation and holy Communion."
This is a year for a lot of celebrations in his family. His parents, Paula and Kim, will be married 37 years in September. His sister, Hannah, who just turned 22, is graduating with a degree in accounting from SIU-E.
"My Dad, Kim, just joined the church on Easter 2009. Father Delix Michel brought him in, baptized him and gave him first Communion and I gave my Dad the precious blood for his first time."
Deacon Scott Snider
Transitional Deacon Scott Snider will turn 52 on Memorial Day. Two days before his birthday, the former Congregational minister will be ordained a Catholic priest in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois.
It was just 10 years ago that Deacon Snider and his wife, Pamela, were living in Quincy and he was serving as pastor of a Congregational church there, that they chose to become Catholics.
Deacon Snider's conversion and vocation journey was featured in the Feb. 12, 2012, issue of Catholic Times, available online here: ct.dio.org/diocesan-life/diocesan-life-articles/former-protestant-minister-to-be-ordained-a-priest.html.
Cardinal Francis George of the Archdiocese of Chicago ordained Snider to the transitional diaconate on Oct. 29, 2011 at Mundelein's Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, along with 10 of his Mundelein classmates, as Bishop Paprocki was about to leave for Rome when permission for Snider's diaconate ordination came from the Holy Father on Oct. 7, 2011.
At the February Presbyterial Council meeting, Bishop Paprocki explained to the council that one of the Vatican's conditions in permitting a married, former Protestant minister to be ordained a Catholic priest, is that he cannot be assigned as a pastor. He may serve as a parochial administrator, a parochial vicar, or in a specialized area.
Vesting him at his ordination will be Father Brian Fischer, associate pastor at St. Gregory the Great Parish in Chicago, where Deacon Snider did pastoral work.
"I'm very grateful for the time that we had at St. Gregory. It is just such a wonderful parish to be a part of," says Deacon Snider. "I learned so much about parish life. I never would have imagined that we would have lived in Chicago."