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Eleven men to be ordained permanent deacons

For The Catholic Heraldbr> photos Haymarket Joe Photography

Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde will ordain 11 men to the
permanent diaconate Jan. 17 at the Cathedral of St. Thomas
More in Arlington. The liturgy begins at 11 a.m. and is open
to the public.

Robert E. Benyo, 59, was born in Phoenixville, Pa.,
and is a parishioner of St. Peter Church in Washington. He
earned a bachelor’s in agriculture from Penn State
University.

He and his wife, Emilia, were married in 1998. They have five
sons and six grandchildren.

A specialist in Turfgrass management, Benyo started a
division of a major company serving the sports fields
industry. He co-founded Premier Sports Fields, LLC, which
specializes in sports field construction and maintenance in
Northern Virginia. He also started Synthetic Sports Turf
Solutions which specializes in synthetic athletic field
construction and maintenance.

Prior to joining St. Peter Church, Benyo served as president
and member of the parish council of St. John the Evangelist
in Warrenton and as past faithful navigator for the St.
John’s Assembly Knights of Columbus. At St. Peter, he has
served as director of religious education and altar server
coordinator and trainer. He is currently the parish liaison
to the board of directors for Epiphany Catholic School in
Culpeper.

It was during several years of spiritual direction that Benyo
recognized the call to the permanent diaconate. He said he is
grateful for his call to serve the diocese.

Robert R. Gillispie, 48, was born in Lexington, Ky.,
and is a parishioner of St. John the Apostle Church in
Leesburg.

He earned a bachelor’s in political science from Boston
University and a law degree from George Washington University
in Washington.

He and his wife, Amy, were married in 1996 and have nine
children.

Gillispie is a partner at the firm of Clark, Gillispie, Park,
Magner and Dennis in Leesburg.

He has served as extraordinary minister of holy Communion,
lector, choir member, catechist, retreat leader, Knight of
Columbus and assistant with the Rite of Christian Initiation
of Adults program.

Raised in a Protestant church, Gillispie felt a calling
during college and delivered his first sermons at Brookline
Church of Christ in Massachusetts. He envisioned his practice
of law would be a supplement to preaching. While living in
Wichita, Kan., he experienced a “profound conversion
experience and came to understand the reality of Christ’s
true presence in the Eucharist.”

After moving to Arlington, he completed the Rite of Christian
Initiation of Adults and met Deacon Samuel Taub, whom he
credits for his interest in the permanent diaconate. “It was
Deacon Sam’s witness that inspired me; … his service
to the church began with his service to his family,” said
Gillispie.

Rafael A. Goldsmith, 65, was born in Panama City,
Panama, and is a parishioner of All Saints Church in
Manassas.

He earned a bachelor’s in mathematics and psychology from
Chapman College in Orange, Calif., and a master’s in
management from Troy State University in Troy, Ala.

He and his wife, Mary Alice, were married in 1971 and have
five children, including Father Joseph Goldsmith from the
Diocese of Richmond. They also have 15 grandchildren.

Before starting college, Goldsmith traveled for one year with
the international musical group Up With People. Following
college, he served in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years working
in weather observations and communications/electronics
systems. After his retirement, he provided computer standards
and systems integration for the government. In 2002, he
started his own information technology company, ADSSaT
Consulting Services.

Goldsmith has served in Cursillo, the Rite of Christian
Initiation of Adults, Called and Gifted workshops, music
ministries, religious education, Marriage Encounter, Life in
the Spirit seminars and various prayer groups.

Goldsmith said he spent a summer during high school at a
Franciscan seminary discerning a vocation to the priesthood
but instead found the calling to marriage. At the age of 33,
he felt called to the diaconate, but the program was not
available in the military. After the program resumed in the
Arlington Diocese, he applied with the encouragement of his
pastor, Father Robert Cilinski. He encourages all to be open
to God’s calling and to ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and
help in discernment.

Helio A. Gomez, 38, was born in Chilcuyo, Santa Ana in
El Salvador, and came to Arlington with his family. He is a
parishioner of Holy Family Church in Dale City.

After graduating from Wakefield High School in Arlington, he
held several jobs, including his current position as
assistant branch manager for a local financial institution.

He and his wife, Marissa, were married in 1998 and have three
children.

As a parishioner of St. Anthony of Padua Church in Falls
Church from 1998 to 2007, Gomez joined the prayer group
“Nueva Esperza.” During this time, he learned the importance
of prayer and meditating Scripture. After moving to Dale City
and becoming a parioshioner of Holy Family Church, he visited
homebound parishioners and worked with Cursillo. He currently
serves as a member of the parish council.

Gomez points to his wedding day as the day he received his
call to the diaconate. He is grateful to have received the
sacrament of matrimony, and at the same time “a profound
personal conversion.” He believes “this sense of calling has
been nourished by God through my marriage and family life and
by being at the service of others.”

Thomas H. McQuillan, 60, was born in New York, and is
a parishioner of Blessed Sacrament Church in Alexandria.

He earned a bachelor’s in communications from Fordham
University in New York and a law degree from George
Washington University in Washington.

He and his wife, Ann, were married in 1980.

McQuillan served as a federal prosecutor for more than 24
years, first with the Criminal Division of the U.S.
Department of Justice and then with the U.S. Attorney’s
Office for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria.

Currently, he teaches a weekly religion class at Christ House
in Alexandria as well as religious education at Blessed
Sacrament. He completed an internship with the diocesan
office of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. He has
served as extraordinary minister of holy Communion, altar
server coordinator, lector and member of the hospital
ministry at Blessed Sacrament, and he has conducted Communion
services at the St. Martin de Porres Senior Center.

McQuillan said he sensed his calling to the diaconate as he
reflected on how to give greater witness to the faith. Having
spent his entire career in public service, he is attracted to
the service aspect of the permanent diaconate.

Michael J. Mochel, 60, was born in Decatur, Ill., and
is a parishioner of St. Clare of Assisi Church in Clifton. He
earned as associate’s in general engineering from Springfield
College in Illinois and a bachelor’s in physics from the
University of Missouri at Rolla. He earned a master’s in
business administration from the University of Missouri,
Columbia, and an education specialist degree in human and
organizational learning from George Washington University in
Washington.

He and his wife, Rebecca, were married in 1976. They have two
sons and one grandchild.

Mochel, who served in the U.S. Air Force for 27 years, worked
as a contractor for the government and also served as
director of career development at Christendom College in
Front Royal. He currently works for SBG Technology Solutions
Inc., providing program management training to the
government.

At St. Clare of Assisi, he has served in music ministry,
religious education and the Rite of Christian Initiation of
Adults.

Mochel first felt called to the diaconate in the late 1980s
but was unable to pursue it during his military career. He is
grateful to have been given the opportunity through the
Arlington Diocese.

Patrick A. Ouellette, 47, was born in Sandusky, Ohio,
and is a parishioner of Good Shepherd Church in Alexandria.

After earning a bachelor’s in physics from the University of
Toledo, he started a career in computers for private
companies and state universities. He currently serves as an
information technology specialist in the Law Library of the
Library of Congress.

He and his wife, Aletha, were married in 1989. They have
three children.

He has served Good Shepherd Church as an extraordinary
minister of holy Communion, lector, Knight of Columbus and
member of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults team. He
has traveled to Jamaica on a mission trip with Food For The
Poor.

Ouellette always has been interested in service to the
community but was reluctant at first to pursue the diaconate.
“I’m not ashamed to say that, like Jonah, I initially wanted
to ignore or flee from such a call,” he said. “Through the
grace of God, one day I found the strength to say ‘yes, God,
I trust You, and I will go where You lead.'”

Antonio J. Remedios, 55, was born in Hong Kong and is
a parishioner of Our Lady, Queen of Peace Church in
Arlington.

He earned his bachelor’s in philosophy from the College of
the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., and his master’s in
counseling from San Francisco State University. He also
earned a master’s from the School of Religious Studies at the
Catholic University in Washington.

He and his wife, Katie, were married in 1983. They have four
children.

After graduating from college, Remedios served as campus
minister and counselor at his alma mater, St. Ignatius
College Preparatory School in San Francisco. From there, he
helped launch an information technology services company,
Consolidated Networks Corp., where he serves as managing
director.

Remedios has served in his parish funeral ministry, religious
education program and sacramental preparation program. He has
been a lector and member of the choir. He is also a past
chairman of the parish advisory board.

Remedios said that, when discerning the call to the
diaconate, he used the standard: “Is God shining a light onto
a path I should explore?” When a retiring deacon said to him,
“I’m leaving, and I want you to take my place,” he began to
pray about it and asked for help from his wife and family. He
said that on the day Pope Francis was elected his “heart
burst with such joy and gratitude.” He felt a certainty that
the Holy Spirit would guide him.

Atanacio Sandoval, 44, was born in Canton Amaya, San
Miguel, in El Salvador, and is a parishioner of St. John
Neumann Church in Reston.

After completing high school in San Miguel, Sandoval came to
the United States and began working as a busboy in a
restaurant. He then became a laborer for a commercial
construction company building office space in Northern
Virginia. Over time, he was promoted to foreman and now is a
partner in the business.

He and his wife, Celia, were married in 1992. They have two
daughters.

Sandoval has been active with the Spanish community at St.
John Neumann Church, serving as altar server coordinator,
extraordinary minister of holy Communion, lector and teaching
baptismal, convalidation and Rite of Christian Initiation of
Adults classes. He is also a Knight of Columbus and a past
member of the parish council.

Sandoval attributes his calling to the diaconate to the need
for more Spanish-speaking ministers. He sees his ministry as
something he can do for both the Hispanic community and the
entire parish of St. John Neumann.

James R. Van de Voorde, 55, was born in Darlinghurst,
Australia and grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles. He is a
parishioner of All Saints Church in Manassas.

He earned his bachelor’s in engineering from Loyola-Marymount
University in Los Angeles and his master’s in civil
engineering from the University of Washington at Seattle. He
is working on his master’s in theological studies at
Christendom College in Front Royal.

He and his wife, Fran, were married in 1983. They have seven
children, including Home of the Mother Sister Allison, Beth
(consecrated in the Regnum Christi movement) and novice
Dominican Sister Grace.

Van de Voorde served in the U.S. Navy Seabees for 20 years,
managing construction at bases. Following retirement, he
began consulting work and started his own firm, Potomac
Facility Consulting LLC.

At All Saints Church, he served as extraordinary minister of
holy Communion, lector and helped start a parish ministry to
prisoners.

Van de Voorde first envisioned himself as a deacon while in
college but was unable to pursue this during his military
career. When the permanent diaconate program was restarted in
Arlington, he applied but was not accepted. After several
years of prayer and continued service in his parish, he
reapplied and was accepted. He believes it was “a sense that
God was asking me to use the talents and time He gave me to
serve Him to help build up the church.”

Michael A. Waters, 57, was born in Garden City, Mich.,
and is a parishioner of St. Lawrence Church in Alexandria.

He earned his bachelor’s in criminal justice from Michigan
State University and his law degree from the Cooley Law
School of Western Michigan University. He also earned his
master’s in international and environmental law from the
George Washington University School of Law in Washington.

He and his wife, Anne, have been married for 33 years. They
have four children and three grandchildren.

Waters served in the U.S. Navy’s Judge Advocate General corps
and then worked as an ethics officer for the FBI. He serves
as deputy associate general counsel for ethics for the
Department of Homeland Security.

He has served as a lector and extraordinary minister of holy
Communion at St. Lawrence Church.

Waters sensed a calling in the fifth grade, and lived for
four years at a minor seminary run by the Augustinian Fathers
in Holland, Mich. After graduation, he determined that his
calling was not to the priesthood. He and his wife often
discussed his discerning a call to the diaconate and both
attended a diocesan information session six years ago. He
says that since then, “the call has been clear and growing
with each passing day.”

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