When Deacon Carlos Mauricio Portillo first applied for seminary years ago, Bishop Paul S. Loverde asked him why he wanted to be a priest. “My answer was, because I want to be an instrument of God’s mercy for my brothers and sisters through the sacraments,” he said. “It’s still the same. When I look at my future ministry, I just want to be an instrument of mercy.”

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge ordained eight men to the transitional diaconate at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington April 23: Jonathan Bennett, Andrew Clark, Timothy Courtney, Zinjin Iglesia, Michael Nugent, Stanley Poczatek IV, Charles Wilton and David Witherow.