CHARLOTTE — This June, seven men will be ordained deacons, continuing a trend of near-record numbers of seminarians to take this step toward the priesthood together for the Diocese of Charlotte.
These men will be ordained to holy orders June 7 at St. Mark Church in Huntersville, putting them one step closer to becoming priests next year.
This diverse class brings men from all over the state, from Winston-Salem to Forest City and two from the same Charlotte parish.
All seven attend Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and School of Theology in Cincinnati, Ohio.
They are: Robert Warren Bauman and Peter James Townsend, both from St. Ann Parish in Charlotte; Michael Patrick Camilleri, from St. Elizabeth Parish in Boone; John Warren Cuppett, from St. Leo the Great Parish in Winston-Salem; Maximilian Karl Frei, from St. Dorothy Parish in Lincolnton; Bryan Ilagor, from Our Lady of the Americas Parish in Biscoe; and Michael James Lugo, from Immaculate Conception Parish in Forest City.
Besides attending the same seminary, most of the men share similar passions for music, sports, reading and a love of the Catholic faith.
The group of seven to be ordained deacons – and expected to be ordained priests a year from now – equals the largest group to be ordained together in recent years.
Six of them were among the first classes at St. Joseph College Seminary in Mount Holly for undergraduates discerning a possible priestly vocation before taking the step of enrolling in a major seminary for more formal formation. Established in 2016, the college seminary is fostering growth of vocations in the diocese. Students work toward a bachelor’s degree at Belmont Abbey College while experiencing a Benedictine-style communal life on their path of discernment.
Catholic summer camps – such as Quo Vadis Days, an annual vocation discernment camp for young men to ponder “Where are you going?” – are where many of these men first identified or cemented a potential calling to the priesthood.
“There was always an opportunity for seminarians and priests to answer questions,” Ilagor said. “This allowed me to solidify my vocation.”
Having St. Joseph College Seminary down the road from Belmont Abbey College helped John Cuppett, who attended the Catholic college on a baseball scholarship, clarify his path to the priesthood.
“I became acquainted with some of the seminarians while in college, and this had a huge impact on my discernment. Watching them gave me courage to follow Our Lord as well,”Cuppett said.
“The community at St. Joseph College Seminary formed the perfect ‘seedbed,’ complete with all the elements to make my relationship with Jesus grow and flourish.”
All are welcome to attend the 10 a.m. Mass on Saturday, June 7, at St. Mark Church, located at 14740 Stumptown Road in Huntersville.
— Kimberly Bender
Meet the Deacons-to-be
Robert Warren Bauman
Home parish: St. Ann Church, Charlotte
Born and raised in: Wilmington, NC
Age: 22
Interests/hobbies: Hiking, disc golf, running and reading at a local coffee shop
Summer assignments in the diocese: Sacred Heart in Salisbury, Our Lady of Mercy in Winston-Salem and St. Lucien’s parish / St. Bernadette’s mission in Spruce Pine / Linville.
CNH: Who is vesting you and why?
Bauman: “Deacon Kolbe Murrey, because he has been a good friend throughout my time in seminary.”
CNH: When did you first realize you had a call to the priesthood?
Bauman: “During an eight-day Ignatian silent retreat.”
Michael Patrick Camilleri
Home parish: St Elizabeth Church, Boone
Born in: Florida
Raised in: Northa Carolina
Age: XX
Interests/hobbies: Learning languages and calligraphy
Summer assignments in the diocese: St Jude, Sapphire; Our Lady of the Mountains, Highlands; St Gabriel, Charlotte
CNH: Who is vesting you and why?
Camilleri: "Deacon Ron Caplette: because I know him from when I was growing up."
CNH: When did you first realize you had a call to the priesthood?
Camilleri: “I first heard the call to the priesthood when I was very young – 3 or 4 years old. My family loves to talk about how I used to “play Mass,” which is actually one of my earliest memories. I lost sight of the vocation in late elementary school until right before high school. I wanted to go into computer science.
While preparing to enter high school, by the grace of God, I decided to pursue what He put on my heart from that early age, and I entered the college seminary.”
John Warren Cuppett
Home parish: St. Leo the Great, Winston-Salem
Birthplace: Cary, NC
Raised in: Four Oaks, NC
Age: 27
Interest/hobbies: Sports and the outdoors, including hiking and camping
Summer assignments: Missionary work with the order of Jesus Crucified in Louisiana
CNH: Who is vesting you and why?
Cuppett: “Deacon Christopher Angermeyer, because he is a good friend of mine and has been a good mentor.”
CNH: When did you first realize you had a call to the priesthood?
Cuppett: Cuppett played baseball at Belmont Abbey College and clarified the call while at college.
“During high school I was interested in joining the seminary after I graduated; however, I did very little in pursuing it and soon it faded into the background. From then on and up until college it was a fun idea, but nothing more. After high school I attended Belmont Abbey College on a baseball scholarship, where I played as a second baseman for four years.
During my time at the Abbey, I met Matthew Harrison, a Charlotte seminarian. I informed him of my past dream of becoming a priest and he invited me to visit St. Joseph College Seminary. I did, and then all my previous desires and hopes for the priesthood came crashing back. I quickly sought help in my discernment with the diocesan Vocations Office. My senior year at the Abbey, I started spiritual direction with Father Brian Becker, the diocese’s promoter of vocations, and he helped me tremendously by answering all my questions, fears and thoughts regarding my vocation. Together we discovered that my call to the priesthood was very real, and he referred me to Father Christopher Gober, diocesan vocations director, to begin the process of applying.”
Maximilian Karl Frei
Home parish: St. Dorothy Church, Lincolnton
Birthplace: Villingen, Germany
Raised in: Braeunlingen, Germany
Age: 30
Interests/ hobbies: Chess, fitness and spiritual reading
Summer assignments in the diocese: St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte; St. John Church in Waynesville and St. John the Baptist in Tryon
CNH: Who will be vesting you and why?
Frei: “Deacon Anthony Del Cid Lucero will be vesting me, because he is a very joyful friend who I can always count on.”
CNH: When did you first realize you had a call to the priesthood?
Frei: “The first time I can remember when I had a calling was when I was waiting in the confession line as a kid. Many years later in my mid 20's, after living a worldly and superficial life, it was Our Lord once more who called me to serve him as a priest.”
Bryan Ilagor
Home parish: Our Lady of the Americas, Biscoe
Birthplace: Pinehurst, NC
Raised in: Zitácuaro, Michoacán, Mexico
Age: 29
Interest/ hobbies: Expanding my knowledge of different cultures, such as Japanese, Korean, Filipino and many others; watching TV and movies and a football fan of La Liga, the Premier League and other leagues
Summer assignments in the diocese: Immaculate Conception in Hendersonville and St. Francis of Assisi in Lenoir
CNH: Who will be vesting you and why?
Ilagor: “Deacon Charles D. Hindbaugh, because of our friendship over the past years and his role model as a humble deacon serving the local community.”
CNH: When did you first realize you had a call to the priesthood?
Ilagor: “Many seminarians can recall dressing up as priests, and that was their realization. However, I did not have a big realization moment. Instead, it was a step I decided to take in my life (at least, that’s how I saw it at first). I was not big into participating in Church activities, but I always found myself helping in the Church instead of going out with my friends to watch a movie. I always found myself at peace while serving the Church.
Hence, if I had to decide a moment in my life when I first realized, it was when I was helping my Pastor Ricardo Sanchez to close the church one night. After locking all the doors of the church, turning off all the lights, and making sure no one was left behind, I met with my pastor at the Sanctuary to say goodbye. We were the only ones left at the church, and he asked me a question I have not forgotten. ‘Bryan, do you want to be a priest?’ Before I could respond, he said, “Before you answer, look at the Tabernacle; you are not going to answer to me but to God.” Great. I thought to myself. Now, I can’t lie or give an incomplete answer. I thought, ‘If this is God’s will, I will give it a shot.’ Shortly after, I told my pastor, ‘Yes.’ This first ‘step’ was accepting that God called me to enter the seminary. In the past, many parishioners had said, ‘You should be a priest,’ but dismissed them with ‘I don’t think it is my calling.’ Seven years later, I am here, realizing I will be ordained a deacon in a few months.”
Michael James Lugo
Home parish: Immaculate Conception, Forest City
Birthplace: Kansas
Raised in: Rutherfordton, NC
Age: 24
Interests/ hobbies: Running, skiing, euchre, reading and piano
Summer assignments in the diocese: Holy Cross, Kernersville; St. Lucian and St. Bernadette, Spruce Pine/Linville; St. John the Baptist, Tryon
CNH: Who will be vesting you and why?
Lugo: “Deacon Joseph Yellico. We entered St. Joseph’s the same year and has been a great brother to me over the course of seminary.”
CNH: When did you first realize you had a call to the priesthood?
Lugo: “They were several points growing up that I remember seriously considering it as an option. But I really started taking it seriously during Quo Vadis Days in the summer of 2018. Throughout the course of that week, spending time in prayer and learning about the priesthood, it seemed to me that the priesthood was the summation of everything I wanted out of life, particularly the way in which the life of a priest is completely dedicated to one thing: the service of God.”
Peter James Townsend
Home parish: St. Ann Church, Charlotte
Birthplace: Racine, Wisconsin
Raised in: Charlotte
Age: 24
Interests/hobbies: “I enjoy playing guitar in my free time and reading a good novel (right now I’m reading Dostoevsky’s Brothers Karamozov). I’ve also found that I enjoy learning languages. Right now, I’m working on Spanish and would like to one day work on French (maybe even Italian and German!).”
Summer assignments in the diocese: “During my college days, I participated in the St. Joseph Workers’ program where myself and my brother seminarians traveled around the diocese performing different odd jobs like lawn mowing, mulch spreading, painting.
After entering theology, I spent my summers at St. John the Baptist Parish in Tryon, St. Mark Parish in Huntersville and Our Lady of Grace Parish in Greensboro.”
CNH: Who will be vesting you and why?
Townsend: “Deacon Nicholas Kramer. He and I have known each other since high school and entered the seminary the same year. Over the years, I’ve been grateful to God for his friendship and the brotherhood that has formed between us.”
CNH: When did you first realize you had a call to the priesthood?
Townsend: “I always knew I wanted to be a priest, so I entered St. Joseph College Seminary straight out of high school.
“I first felt the call to the priesthood when I was about five years old, and the feeling never left me. So, when St. Joseph’s opened in 2016, I knew what I had to do.”