Fathers Donald Morris, Eugene Schaeffer ordained May 28
Two men ordained to the sacred priesthood for the Archdiocese of St. Louis were called upon to model humility, relying on God and His grace, as they bring the Gospel message to the world.
Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski conferred the sacrament of Holy Orders upon Fathers Donald Morris and Eugene Schaeffer May 28 at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis.
Both men had a calling to ordained ministry from an early age; however, they had completely different paths to the priesthood. Father Morris, 27, was finished with his second year of college when he decided to enter Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. Father Schaeffer, 57, spent 14 years serving as a permanent deacon for the Archdiocese of St. Louis. In 2019, he entered St. Pope John XXIII Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts, for his priestly formation.
Sharing the Gospel as part of the sacred priesthood comes with great privilege and responsibility, Archbishop Rozanski said in the homily. The prophet Jeremiah, mentioned in the first reading, was reluctant because of his own perceived inabilities, yet God assured Jeremiah He would give him the words to share His message.
“Humility is essential for the priesthood in order to accompany people on their journey,” the archbishop said, adding, “for they have much to teach us as we seek to minister to them.”
Turning to prayer and the sacraments helps to “ensure that we are preaching Christ crucified and risen solely for the sake of the salvation of God’s people,” Archbishop Rozanski said.
The archbishop also called on the men to lead the faithful to God, in the example of the Good Shepherd, “not to be served, but to serve others, and to seek and save what was lost,” he said.
Father Morris was assigned to Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Washington and Father Schaeffer was assigned to Holy Redeemer Parish in Webster Groves.
Rite of Ordination
At the beginning of the rite of ordination, Father Brian Fallon, vocations director for the archdiocese, stood before the archbishop and testified to the candidates’ worthiness for ordination. Afterward, the candidates declared their willingness to undertake the responsibilities of the priesthood, as well as obedience to the archbishop and his successors.
One of the highlights of the rite is the Litany of Supplication, also known as the Litany of Saints, in which the men lie prostrate on the floor of the sanctuary, and the congregation prays for the intercession of the saints for God’s grace and mercy for those to be ordained.
The archbishop also imposes hands on the head of each ordinand, conferring the power of the Holy Spirit through a prayer of consecration. All priests at the Mass also take turns laying hands on these candidates, symbolizing that they are being ordained into the presbyteral college of the local Church. The archbishop then says the prayer of ordination, asking for each man to be configured to the person of Christ.
Afterward, the new priests are invested with the stole and chasuble, the vestments of the priest. The archbishop anoints the hands of each man with the sacred chrism oil, which symbolizes the priest’s participation in the priesthood of Christ through the sacrifices of his hands.
