Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori will lay his hands on
the heads of two men during the ordination ceremony at the
Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington June 4 at 11 a.m.
The archbishop, who is substituting for Arlington Bishop Paul
S. Loverde, will ordain Jordan Willard and Stephen Vaccaro to
the diaconate. Their stories below provide a glimpse at their
backgrounds and some of the influences that helped them
answer the Lord’s call.
For 20 years Jordan Willard has stayed close to the altar
Jordan Willard was born to Glenn and Joanna Willard in
Lansing, Mich., in 1989. His first encounter with Mass was
seven years later when his family began to attend a Catholic
Church after years of attending Episcopal Church as
charismatic Christians. The whole family came into the
Catholic Church in 1996 at St. Anthony of Padua, a gorgeous
church in Wis,. It was there that Willard saw an altar server
for the first time.
“I remember looking up and seeing these kids about my age
wearing dresses and pillowcases so I was like, ‘I got to do
that,”’ said Jordan with a laugh. “It was a little less than
two months that I became an altar boy.”
Not long after, Jordan was introduced to the idea of becoming
a priest by a Hispanic seminarian who was living with the
family to perfect his English. Willard was only 8 at the time
and he felt it was too far off to make any decisions.
During the following years, the Willards moved frequently,
but no matter where they went Willard always made an effort
to stay close to the altar. He has served since 1997 with a
brief pause in 2009 when he went to Virginia Tech and then
after entering seminary.
In 2000, his family settled in Virginia where they joined St.
Frances de Sales Church in Purcellville. He started thinking
about the priesthood as he entered high school. At the time
he joined a discernment group led by Father Brian G.
Bashista, then Arlington diocese vocations director. That
same year the diocese started Quo Vadis and he attended their
first summer camp in 2007.
But still feeling like he was too young, he dismissed it
again. “I was like first or second year of high school so I
thought ‘I could not even enter seminary if I wanted to right
now.'”
Jordan attended the Heights School in Potomac, Md., which had
a huge impact on his life.
“I grew up with 11 brothers and sisters so I had a taste of
what fraternity could be,” he said. “But this institution was
an all-boys school and for once I was surrounded by brothers.
The Heights gave me just a glimpse of what fraternity could
look like as a priest.”
After graduating he studied chemical engineering at Virginia
Tech and joined the military ROTC.
After his first year of College, his discernment to the
priesthood came back “like a brick to the face.” During that
time, two of his siblings were married. Seeing the joy on
their faces as their vocations came to fruition made him
realize that now was the time to start thinking about his own
vocation again.
He joined seminary in the spring of 2010 and was sent to the
Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio where he is
now in his 3rd year of theology.
In March, Jordan signed his petition to the diaconate. “I
felt such a peace, happiness and freedom to sign on that
line. I don’t know if you can call that certainty, but the
seminary has taught me the value of peace and if you are at
peace you are where God wants you to be.
As one of his first acts as a deacon, Jordan hopes to baptize
his new niece, Isabella Louise Willard, who was born April
26.
Steven Vaccaro sees the Diaconate as a visible witness of
God’s love
Stephen Vaccaro was born in Virginia to Frances and Vincent
Vaccaro September 28, 1989. Raise in a Catholic family of
nine, his parents never told him what they thought he should
do with his life. Instead, they encouraged him to be holy, do
his work and promised him that God would provide the rest.
As Stephen grew up, it became apparent to everyone but him
that he should consider the priesthood. An opinion that
well-intentioned friends gave freely, but that unfortunately
had the reverse effect.
“I did not enjoy that people thought I was going to be a
priest,” said Stephen. “I did not want them treating me
differently.”
The first time Stephen remembers feeling a call to the
priesthood within himself was during Holy Thursday Mass his
freshman year of high school. Watching the priests
concelebrate the Mass together he thought “These guys have a
real fraternity that bonds them. Maybe I could do that.” But
he immediately dismissed the idea.
It came to him once again in 2009 during senior year of high
school when Pope Benedict came to the United States. He
watched the priests celebrating Mass with the pontiff at
Nationals Park in Washington and once again he was filled
with awe at the fraternity that united them.
A month later, his older brother Chris was ordained a priest.
This appeared to settle the matter of Stephen’s fate in the
eyes of acquaintances, but he was still not convinced.
After graduating from Bishop Ireton High School, Stephen
attended the University of Virginia. His desire to serve in a
tangible way led him to join ROTC. As the weeks passed the
regiment of school and ROTC became more and more difficult
and Stephen considered quitting.
When he went to inform the campus recruiter of his decision,
the recruiter encouraged him to wait until after the next
ROTC speaker – Lt. Cmdr. Father Michael Duesterhaus, a
chaplain in the U.S. Naval Reserves.
“I walked out (after the talk) and walked straight to the
office and that was the first time I ever told someone I
wanted to be a priest,” said Stephen. At that moment, someone
passing by overheard the conversation and invited Stephen to
join a campus discernment group.
Four years later he graduated from UVA with a bachelor’s
degree in history and enrolled by the diocese to the
Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. He is
currently in his 3rd year of theology and is scheduled to be
ordained a transitional deacon June 4.
“Some of the things I am looking forward to as a deacon are
doing baptisms,” said Stephen. “To be part of such an
awesome, crucially and foundationally important part of their
life is such an awesome privilege.”
Some of his other responsibilities as a deacon will include
bringing communion to the sick and officiating at marriages.
“We get to be visible witnesses,” he said. “It is a reminder
to the world that God is present and loves the world.”
