LATROBE, PENNSYLVANIA — Eleven seminarians from Saint Vincent Seminary were installed to the Ministry of Reader on February 26, 2007 by The Most Reverend Donald Trautman, S.T.D., S.S.L., Bishop of the Diocese of Erie in the Saint Vincent Archabbey Basilica. The seminarians are from seven dioceses and archdioceses and one religious order. They are Michael Kirk of the
Diocese of Charleston; Robert W. Fleckenstein of the Diocese of Pittsburgh; Nicholas Passero of the Diocese of Savannah; José Manuel Escalante of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston; Christopher Barnes and Michael Polinek of the Diocese of Erie; José Alexandre Missio of the Archdiocese of Campinas; Carlos Florez, Thang Pham, and Carlos Vargas of the Archdiocese of Atlanta; and Brother Bonaventure Curtis, O.S.B., of Saint Vincent Archabbey.
DIOCESE OF CHARLESTON
Michael Alan Kirk of Simpsonville, S.C., is the son of Robert and Sandra Lee Kirk of Simpsonville. He is a 2001 graduate of Southside High School, Greenville, and earned a bachelor of arts degree from the Pontifical College Josephinum, Columbus, Ohio, in 2005.
DIOCESE OF PITTSBURGH
Robert Wayne Fleckenstein of McKeesport is the son of Wayne R. and Mary K. Fleckenstein of McKeesport. He is a 1995 graduate of Serra Catholic High School, McKeesport, and earned a bachelor of arts degree in religious studies from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2000. He also studied philosophy at Duquesne University.
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH
Nicholas C. Passero is the son of Col. Stephen P. and Catherine E. Passero of Clifton, Va. He is a 1998 graduate of Alexander Patch American High School, Stuttgart, Germany. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in anthropology from Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, in 2002.
DIOCESE OF WHEELING-CHARLESTON
José M. Escalante is the son of Manuel Sanchez of San Vincente, El Salvador and Francisa Escalante of La Paz, El Salvador. He is a 1982 graduate of Collegio Technologico Vicentino, San Vicente. He studied philosophy at the Instituto Teologico de America Central and also studied at Saint John Vianney College Seminary, Miami.
DIOCESE OF ERIE
Christopher Michael Barnes of Rouseville is the son of Martha S. Barnes of Rouseville and Charles W. Barnes. He is a 1989 graduate of Oil City Area Senior High School and studied at Gannon University from 2004-2006. He has also studied at the Venango campus of Clarion University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh at Titusville, the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in biology, and the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science, where he received an associate degree in specialized funeral service arts and sciences in 1999.
Michael Charles Polinek of Erie is the son of Mark Charles Polinek of Girard and Charlene Ann Polinek of Erie. He is a 1997 graduate of McDowell High School and earned a bachelor of arts degree in liberal arts from Gannon University in 2006.
ARCHDIOCESE OF CAMPINAS
José Alexandre Missio of Campinas, Brazil, is the son of José Primo de Jesus Missio and Neusa Odete Pitão Missio of Campinas. He is a 1990 graduate of Fundagõo Bradesco de Campinas and studied philosophy from 2003 through 2005 at the Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Campinas.
ARCHDIOCESE OF ATLANTA
Carlos Florez of Atlanta is a 1999 graduate of Juan Manuel Rudas High School, Remolino, Colombia. He received a diploma in philosophy from Seminary Maria Immaculada in Garzon, Colombia in 2003.
Thang Minh Pham of Oakwood, Ga., is the son of Tuong Minh Pham and Bay Thi Le of Oakwood, Georgia. He is a graduate of Centre Louis Jolillette, L’Education Pour Adults, Quebec, Canada. He attended College do Limoilou in Quebec and earned a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy from Saint John’s University, Queens, New York, in 2005.
Carlos Eduardo Vargas-Silva of Atlanta is the son of Jaime Vargas and Mariana Silva of Florencia, Colombia. He is a 1986 graduate of Colegio Migani in Florencia. He earned a diploma from the Angelicum in Rome in 1999, studying international law. His undergraduate degree from Saint Thomas University in 2000 was in law.
ST. VINCENT ARCHABBEY
Brother Bonaventure Curtis, O.S.B., a native of southern California, was raised in Minneapolis, Minn. and completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, in 1970, majoring in English and Secondary Education. He entered Western State University / Thomas Jefferson College of Law, San Diego, in the Fall of 1975 and completed his studies for the Juris Doctorate degree in December of 1977. He was admitted to the State of California Bar Association the following year and practiced law continuously thereafter. He made his first vows as a Benedictine monk in July of 2005.
