Notre Dame, Ind. – The Indiana Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross will ordain two new priests on March 29, 2008, at 2 p.m. at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, located at the University of Notre Dame. The Most Reverend John D’Arcy, D.D., S.T.D., Bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, will confer the Sacrament of Holy Orders on Rev. Mr. Andrew M. Gawrych, C.S.C., and Rev. Mr. Stephen A. Lacroix, C.S.C.
“The international Holy Cross community is blessed to welcome these men who will bring hope and joy to many people through our ministries,” says Rev. Edwin H. Obermiller, C.S.C., director of the Office of Vocations for the Congregation of Holy Cross, Indiana Province. “These ordinations are a time of gratitude and celebration for us.”
Rev. Mr. Andrew Gawrych, C.S.C.
Deacon Drew was born in Superior Township, Michigan, and spent his high school years in Leavenworth, Kansas. During his undergraduate studies at the University of Notre Dame, he spent a semester of service learning in Santiago, Chile, an experience that prompted him to consider international peace or relief work. He graduated in 2002 with a degree in government and international relations.
In the fall of that year, he entered the Candidate Program at Moreau Seminary, follwed by a year at the Holy Cross Novitiate in Colorado. Drew then returned to Moreau Seminary, where he earned his M.Div. degree from Notre Dame in 2007. He professed final vows in the Congregation of Holy Cross and was ordained a deacon in August of last year. He has served in that role at St. John Vianney Parish in Goodyear, Arizona, since last fall. He also has co-edited a book, The Cross, Our Only Hope: Daily Reflections in the Holy Cross Tradition.
After ordination, Deacon Drew will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Sunday, March 30, 2008, at 11:45 am. He will also celebrate Masses of Thanksgiving in the chapel of Keough Hall, a Notre Dame residence hall, on Sunday evening at 10 pm; at St. John Vianney Parish the weekend of April 5-6; at St. Casimir Parish in Leavenworth, Kansas, on May 18; and at St. Jerome Parish in Waco, Texas, on June 15.
Rev. Mr. Stephen A. Lacroix, C.S.C.
Born in Framingham, Mass., Deacon Steve grew up in Sugar Land, Texas, where he graduated from John F. Dulles High School. He went on to receive his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, in 1994.
He initially pursued a career in information systems and continued his education, earning an M.B.A. degree from the University of Arizona. While working in Phoenix, he became involved with the Holy Cross community there, including its outreach to the poor, and he saw that service to the Church gave him greater satisfaction than his corporate work. He entered Moreau Seminary in 2002, earned his M.Div. degree at Notre Dame in 2007, and has served as a deacon for the past year at Christ the King Parish in South Bend, Ind.
After ordination, Deacon Steve will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving at Christ the King Church on Sunday, March 30, 2008, at 12:15 pm. He will also celebrate Masses of Thanksgiving at St. Theresa Parish in Sugar Land, Texas, on April 13 and in Phoenix at St. Gregory Parish on April 20.
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