Three priests to be ordained for Glenmary

Glenmary News

Three priests to be ordained for Glenmary

Glenmary Deacons Kenneth Wandera, Samuel Mungai and Josè Lopez.

Three Glenmary Home Missioners will be ordained to the priesthood on Saturday, March 20, during a 10:30 a.m. Mass at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The men to be ordained are Deacons José Lopez, Samuel Mungai and Kenneth Wandera. Bishop J. Mark Spalding, of the Diocese of Nashville, Tenn., will be the ordaining bishop.

The ordinands highlight the international appeal of Glenmary’s mission. José is from Chiapas, Mexico, while Samuel and Kenneth are from Nakuru and Busia, Kenya, respectively.

“I’ve had the privilege of getting to know each of these three men as their novice director, along with Father Tom Kirkendoll,” said Glenmary President Father Dan Dorsey. “I have witnessed their growth and maturity in their missionary vocation. I am very proud of who they have become as men of faith who are about to serve our Lord in their priestly, missionary ministry. Each is unique and they offer a variety of gifts and talents.”

Following ordination, the men will continue to serve the United States home missions, meaning rural parts of the U.S. where the Catholic presence is small, and missioners are engaged in the works of evangelization and poverty relief.

Lopez serves at Glenmary’s Bertie and Washington County missions in North Carolina. Mungai serves in Martin County, N.C., and Wandera in Unicoi County, Tenn. Like all Glenmary mission counties, these areas contain a high population of unchurched, or people who don’t identify with any religion.

The ordination Mass is not open to the public due to COVID-19 restrictions. It will be live-streamed on the Glenmary Facebook page: Facebook.com/Glenmary.org.