AURORA—Marmion monk Theodore Haggerty was ordained to the priesthood on Saturday, Sept. 5.

Restrictions due to the 

 

COVID-19 pandemic ranged from the soft whirr of a touchless sanitizer dispenser to Father Theodore’s sister representing his whole family at the event.

 

Still, as Bishop David Malloy noted in his homily, it was “a moment of eternity” with Father Theodore becoming “a priest forever.” 

 

It was, the bishop added, “a change that will change you forever (into) a configuration of Christ.”

 

Several of the new priest’s brother monks were in attendance, one by one placing their hands upon his head after Bishop Malloy as part of the Rite of Ordination. The dispenser’s whirr was most evident then as each sanitized his hands before and after doing so. 

 

A little later the traditional kiss of peace bestowed upon the new priest did not involve a hug, but a solemn bow to him, one monk at a time.

 

As Mass continued, Father Theodore and some of the other monks concelebrated from their choir pews instead of with Bishop Malloy at the altar. The new priest distributed communion to the few people in attendance in the chapel at Marmion, which is not yet open to the public.

 

Father Theodore’s sister, Stephanie Wiitala, her husband, Ollie, and children, Michael and George, came from Cleveland to the ceremony. 

 

The priest’s brother, from Michigan, and his parents, from New York State, and other family and friends could watch a livestream of the event as Father Theodore accepted the gift of the priesthood and began his first steps to fulfill his priestly calling as well as his call to religious life as a Benedictine monk of Marmion Abbey.