Father Stephen McGinnis  was ordained to the priesthood on June 3 by Bishop Joseph M. Siegel at Saint Benedict Cathedral in Evansville. Father Stephen entered Saint Vincent Seminary in 2003-2004 as a seminarian for the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and received many of the minors orders at Saint Vincent, leading up to his ordination as a deacon for the diocese. He noted in a profile on the Diocese of Evansville’s website that “As a result of a serious illness shortly after my ordination, I knew that I would be unable to be ordained a priest. The risk of being unavailable due to illness was too great. So I was assigned to several parishes as a resident deacon.”

His father retired from the Air Force and moved to Rockport, Indiana, with then-Deacon Stephen following his family there. He continued to hear the call to priesthood and eventually was incardinated in the diocese, then assigned to Saint Meinrad Seminary.

Father Stephen began his pastoral ministry June 28 as parochial vicar of Saint Francis Xavier Parish in Vincennes and Saint Philip Neri Parish in Bicknell.