Council 5618 Supporting Seminarians
As the strong right arm of the church, the Knights of Columbus are committed to providing moral, financial and spiritual support to our future priests and religious at all stages of their formation. Our Council 5618 Knights are keeping the faith alive by supporting our seminarians and postulants. Currently, the Council supports 3 Seminarians financially, morally and spiritually.
Our Council's Financially Supported Seminarians and their 2025 Updates
We asked the 3 Seminarians we support financially for updates on themselves. Their stories have been provided below.
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Joshua Theisen
Joshua Theisen is attending St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach Florida. Click on the images to enlarge them August 22, 2025 This summer I had the opportunity to attend the Institute for Priestly Formation in Omaha, Nebraska. It is a program focused on deepening spirituality and drawing closer to God, and I got to enjoy an 8 day silent retreat. This academic year I am going on pastoral year, meaning that I will be in the diocese serving at a parish. My parish is Annunciation in Altamonte Springs. I moved into the rectory last week and have had a great time so far. The year is like an internship where we get to learn from the priests and get a taste of living a life of ministry in a parish. Thank you all for all you do, and good luck with the fundraising! Yours in Christ, Joshua Please pray for Joshua and help support his education by making a donation today. |
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Nicholas Couture
Nicholas Couture is attending St. Charles Borromeo seminary in Philadelphia, PA, which is the same seminary that our beloved Monsignor Ed Thompson attended. August 18, 2025 Thank you guys as always for your continued support. This summer I spent two months in a hispanic parish in the city of Bridgeport, Ct. It was a wonderful experience and the people were amazing. After my assignment our bishop took all of us seminarians to Rome and Assisi for the Jubilee. It was truly a blessing and grace filled time! I return to school this Wednesday the 20th and I am excited to return for my last year of college seminary! Again thank you all for your continued support! God Bless, Nicholas Couture Diocese of Bridgeport Please pray for Nicholas and help support his education by making donation a today. |
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Peter Kay
Peter Kay is attending seminary in St. Joseph's Seminary College in St. Benedict, Louisiana. Peter is from Orlando, and he graduated from Bishop Moore High School. Click on the images to enlarge them August 22, 2025 Blessed Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary! What Elizabeth told Mary may also be true for us! “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled!” Good to hear from you once more, and I would be delighted to give you an update! Hope all is well in Florida! This Summer has been very eventful for me as I was at the San Pedro Retreat Center helping at the Scripture Summer Camp. The age group itself was from 1st to 12th grade, varying each week. It was kind of like a mini parish serving in any capacity and being the Lord’s hands. For the words of the Lord are upon your lips, and your life is in the Lord’s hands! This will be my 3rd year of Formation, and the business of this year is just beginning. I was chosen to be one of the Junior Ambassadors who help get the new guys acclimated in the community. I am also the Secretary for the Student Government Association, and I am in the Schola Cantorum, which is the Seminary Choir. At St. Ben's, the Philosophy, History, and Literature courses are sectioned into different eras. I will be taking everything Ancient in the Fall and everything Medieval in the Spring. From Ethics and Homer to Metaphysics and Beowulf! This year has gone swimmingly so far, and I am excited to see how God is moving in our lives in terms of vocation for my brothers. I will always keep you in my prayers! Thank you, and have a blessed day! See you in the Eucharistic Sacred Heart of Jesus, Yours in Christ, Peter Please pray for Peter and help support his education by making donation a today. |
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A VOCATION Article from our Chaplain, Fr. Duberney Rodas Grajales
Dear brothers,
I address you with gratitude for the common efforts to encourage vocations within the Church; this is one of the signs that our faith is active, providing the Church with financial and moral assistance for the support of seminarians and religious in formation, our own engagement also grows, so we can say: "As the Knights become more involved in vocational efforts, find new meaning in their own vocations as lay Catholics and members of the Order." [1]
Being aware of the decrease in vocations to the priesthood and religious life, the call of the Church becomes increasingly so that we do not forget the role of the family, where every vocation requires to be welcomed. “The duty of fostering vocations pertains to the whole Christian, which should exercise it above all by a fully Christian life. The principal contributors to this are the families which, animated by the spirit of faith and love and by the sense of duty, become a kind of initial seminary”[2].
It is a great joy to discover that the life of our councils is a great opportunity for the stimulus of vocations. In the March 2024 Report to the Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life & Vocations United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, made by Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate Georgetown University Washington, D.C. we found: Ordinands who belonged to Knights of Columbus/ Knights of Peter Claver constituted 24% of all respondents. They represented 12% of ordinands in religious institutes and 26% of ordinands to diocesan priesthood (a statistically significant difference). Between 2006 and 2024, their share averaged 24% and ranged between 17% and 45%.
In addition to thanking and imploring God's blessing for your generous response to the collection for financial support for our seminarians, I would like to invite you to be an active part of the promotion of vocations. Maybe these suggestions from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website[3], could help us:
In Christ,
Fr. Duberney Rodas
[1] https://www.kofc.org/en/resources/faith-in-action-programs/faith/rsvp/1942-vocations-handbook.pdf
[2] Optatam Totius n.2
[3] https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/vocations/parents/top-ten-things-to-promote-vocations
I address you with gratitude for the common efforts to encourage vocations within the Church; this is one of the signs that our faith is active, providing the Church with financial and moral assistance for the support of seminarians and religious in formation, our own engagement also grows, so we can say: "As the Knights become more involved in vocational efforts, find new meaning in their own vocations as lay Catholics and members of the Order." [1]
Being aware of the decrease in vocations to the priesthood and religious life, the call of the Church becomes increasingly so that we do not forget the role of the family, where every vocation requires to be welcomed. “The duty of fostering vocations pertains to the whole Christian, which should exercise it above all by a fully Christian life. The principal contributors to this are the families which, animated by the spirit of faith and love and by the sense of duty, become a kind of initial seminary”[2].
It is a great joy to discover that the life of our councils is a great opportunity for the stimulus of vocations. In the March 2024 Report to the Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life & Vocations United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, made by Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate Georgetown University Washington, D.C. we found: Ordinands who belonged to Knights of Columbus/ Knights of Peter Claver constituted 24% of all respondents. They represented 12% of ordinands in religious institutes and 26% of ordinands to diocesan priesthood (a statistically significant difference). Between 2006 and 2024, their share averaged 24% and ranged between 17% and 45%.
In addition to thanking and imploring God's blessing for your generous response to the collection for financial support for our seminarians, I would like to invite you to be an active part of the promotion of vocations. Maybe these suggestions from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website[3], could help us:
- Pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. Jesus says in Matthew 9:38 “to beg the master of the harvest to send laborers into the vineyard.” If we want more priests, sisters and brothers, we all need to ask.
- Teach young people how to pray. Pope Benedict XVI said that unless we teach our youth how to pray, they will never hear God calling them into a deeper relationship with Him and into the discipleship of the Church.
- Invite active young adults and teens to consider a vocation to the priesthood or consecrated life. A simple, sincere comment should not be underestimated. An easy way to do this can be remembered by four letters: ICNU. “John, I see in you (ICNU) the qualities that would make a good priest, and I want to encourage you to pray about it.” It is a non-invasive way to encourage openness to a religious vocation.
In Christ,
Fr. Duberney Rodas
[1] https://www.kofc.org/en/resources/faith-in-action-programs/faith/rsvp/1942-vocations-handbook.pdf
[2] Optatam Totius n.2
[3] https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/vocations/parents/top-ten-things-to-promote-vocations
Success! Our Seminarians Become Priests!!
Father Zachary Gray - Ordination to the Priesthood May 28, 2022
Congratulations Father Zackary Gray! Bishop John Noonan proudly blessed and welcomed Father Zackary Gray to the Diocese of Orlando as a newly ordained priest. Let us pray and celebrate Fr. Gray as he serves God's people in our parishes! Amen!
Congratulations Father Zackary Gray! Bishop John Noonan proudly blessed and welcomed Father Zackary Gray to the Diocese of Orlando as a newly ordained priest. Let us pray and celebrate Fr. Gray as he serves God's people in our parishes! Amen!
Father Robert Marquez - Ordination to the Priesthood May 29, 2021
On May 29, 2021, Robert Marquez was ordained a priest and was assigned a Parochial Vicar at St. James Cathedral in Orlando Florida. Praise be to God!
On May 29, 2021, Robert Marquez was ordained a priest and was assigned a Parochial Vicar at St. James Cathedral in Orlando Florida. Praise be to God!
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Donate with a Text Message:
Text 1-888-444-8774 using the keyword ‘vocations’.
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Donate by Check:
Send your check to: Knights of Columbus Bishop Thomas J. Grady Council 5618 P.O. Box 150517 Altamonte Springs, FL 32715-0517 Please add "Vocations" in the memo field of your check. |
St. Joseph's Seminary College
St Joseph's Seminary College
St. Benedict, Louisiana
Saint Joseph Seminary College is a community of faith rooted in the Benedictine tradition which promotes learning in the liberal arts and the development of the whole person. The formation program fosters the commitment of seminarians to the Roman Catholic priesthood in accordance with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Program of Priestly Formation. The Seminary College also makes available its educational and other resources to the local community.
St. Benedict, Louisiana
Saint Joseph Seminary College is a community of faith rooted in the Benedictine tradition which promotes learning in the liberal arts and the development of the whole person. The formation program fosters the commitment of seminarians to the Roman Catholic priesthood in accordance with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Program of Priestly Formation. The Seminary College also makes available its educational and other resources to the local community.
St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary
St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary
Boynton Beach, Florida
Since its founding in 1963 St. Vincent has granted degrees to nearly 500 priests who have gone on to serve parishes throughout Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico, and elsewhere. The only bilingual multicultural theologate in the southeastern U.S., St. Vincent is also a free standing, graduate professional school of theology committed to providing continuing education for clergy, religious and laypersons of all denominations. The seminary is owned by the seven dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in Florida.
Boynton Beach, Florida
Since its founding in 1963 St. Vincent has granted degrees to nearly 500 priests who have gone on to serve parishes throughout Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico, and elsewhere. The only bilingual multicultural theologate in the southeastern U.S., St. Vincent is also a free standing, graduate professional school of theology committed to providing continuing education for clergy, religious and laypersons of all denominations. The seminary is owned by the seven dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in Florida.
St. Charles Borromeo Seminary
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary
Wynnewood, Pennsylvania
Founded in 1832 by Reverend Francis Patrick Kenrick, third Bishop of Philadelphia, Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary is the oldest Catholic institution of higher learning in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary’s mission is to form priests to be shepherds after the heart of Jesus Christ, and permanent deacons, religious and lay men and women for various forms of ministry, service, and discipleship.
Wynnewood, Pennsylvania
Founded in 1832 by Reverend Francis Patrick Kenrick, third Bishop of Philadelphia, Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary is the oldest Catholic institution of higher learning in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary’s mission is to form priests to be shepherds after the heart of Jesus Christ, and permanent deacons, religious and lay men and women for various forms of ministry, service, and discipleship.
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Two Seminarians Sharing the Same Bond Nicholas Couture, the grandson of Gary Couture, a brother Knight of our Council, is attending seminary at St. Charles Borromeo seminary in Philadelphia, PA. Our beloved Monsignor Ed Thompson, as well as his brother, Bishop David, graduated from this seminary in 1950. |
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Monsignor Ed Thompson
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Vocation Prayer
Please pray for vocations.
God our Father,
we thank you for
calling men and women to serve in your
Son’s Kingdom as priests, deacons, and
consecrated persons.
Send your Holy Spirit to help others to respond
generously and courageously to your call.
May our community of faith support vocations of
sacrificial love in our youth and young adults.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives
and reigns with you in the unity of
the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
God our Father,
we thank you for
calling men and women to serve in your
Son’s Kingdom as priests, deacons, and
consecrated persons.
Send your Holy Spirit to help others to respond
generously and courageously to your call.
May our community of faith support vocations of
sacrificial love in our youth and young adults.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives
and reigns with you in the unity of
the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Amen.