Father Colin P. Davis was 10 years old when he looked up at
his mom and told her, “I think I want to be a priest.” That
youthful prediction became a reality when Archbishop Timothy
P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services
ordained Davis and Joseph M. Rampino to the priesthood at the
Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington June 11.
Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde, recovering from recent back
surgery, was unable to serve as the ordaining prelate, though
he offered a private Mass at the same time. “It is a special
grace to stand unworthily in the stead of my dear friend and
brother,” said Archbishop Broglio. “Think of it as if Paul
sent Timothy to represent him,” he joked, in a reference to
the early Christians.
Archbishop Broglio repeated the words of Christ to Peter in
the Gospel when he asked the ordinandi, “Do you love me more
than these?”
“The Lord’s question to Peter is about love,” he said. “He
did not ask Peter about administration, organization or even
theology … . The apostolate is based on this intimate
bond with Jesus and has no other foundation, because it must
be a dissemination of the Lord’s love,” he said.
The archbishop spoke about the many roles of priests and
their participation in the most intimate moments of people’s
lives. “Your presence will be welcomed in times of illness
and loss, in the preparation and celebration of baptism and
first holy Communion and that quest for mercy” – the
sacrament of penance.
But above all, he said, “You will bring people into a unique
participation in the one sacrifice that opened the door to
everlasting life. … That celebration will always be
the hallmark of your ministry and a defining element of who
you are and what you alone can do for those who hunger and
thirst for the bread of life.”
The archbishop then asked the men for their vow of obedience
to the Arlington bishop. They prostrated themselves, a symbol
of dying to old life and rising to the new, while the
congregation sang the litany of supplication.
Archbishop Broglio laid his hands on the two deacons and
prayed over them – the key elements of the sacrament of Holy
Orders. Then, each priest from the diocese laid hands on them
as well.
Father Rampino and Father Davis were each robed with a stole
and chasuble, symbols of their new office. Father Davis was
vested by Father Thomas B. Cavanaugh and Father Rampino by
Father Christopher T. Vaccaro.
To the joy of the congregation, Bishop Loverde arrived in his
wheelchair at the end of Mass and was blessed by the new
priests.
Buy photos from the ordination here
In a letter thanking the many people who helped them on their
journey to the priesthood, Father Davis and Father Rampino
asked for prayers, “that we might be prayerful, generous and
faithful priests who preach and live the Gospel of Jesus
Christ and no other message.”
Father Davis will serve as a parochial vicar of St. Mary of
the Immaculate Conception Church in Fredericksburg, while
Father Rampino will be a parochial vicar of Blessed Sacrament
Church in Alexandria.
The ordination of her son was a humbling moment for Lisa
Rampino. He was just a teenager when she and her husband
trepidatiously dropped him off at college seminary. A week
later he called home. “He was so chipper and joyful we felt
this was meant to be,” she said.
The celebration concluded with an a capella rendition of
“Salve Regina.” As the priests of the diocese
processed out of the cathedral, the choir, organ, trumpets
and drums played a jubilant “O God Beyond All Praising.”
Di Mauro can be reached at [email protected] or on
Twitter @zoeydimauro.
