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Former diocesan seminarian ordained Carthusian priest

Special To The Catholic Herald

Dom Maximus Marie Kennedy is ordained by Bishop Salvatore Matano of Rochester, N.Y., in the small guest chapel of the Carthusian Charterhouse in Arlington, Vt., May 22. COURTESY

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Rob Kennedy, a former diocesan seminarian, was ordained a Carthusian priest, taking the name Dom Maximus Marie Kennedy. Bishop Salvatore Matano of Rochester, N.Y., ordained him May 22 in the small guest chapel at the Carthusians’ Charterhouse of the Transfiguration in Arlington, Vt.

The ordination, postponed from spring 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, was private with a small group of Dom Maximus’ immediate family, including his uncle Father Malcolm Kennedy.

Dom Maximus, who lived in the Arlington diocese until he left for college in 2002, was a diocesan seminarian from 2003 to 2008, when he entered the Charterhouse of the Transfiguration. He made his solemn profession of vows as a Carthusian Aug. 6, 2017.

Dom Maximus celebrated his first Mass according to the Carthusian rite on Pentecost.

The Carthusian order was founded by St. Bruno in 1084 and has charterhouses worldwide. The Carthusian way is centered on contemplation and its members live largely in solitude within a community. Carthusian monks first came to the United States in the 1950s and by 1970, they established a
monastery in Vermont on Mount Equinox.

Men and women in formation as priests and religious in the Arlington diocese, including Dom Maximus, are kept in prayer by the St. Therese Vocation Society. This group is committed to daily prayer for an increase in vocations and the formation of those who enter priesthood or religious life. 

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