Bishop Edward Malesic will ordain Deacon Michael Garvin to the priesthood during a Mass at 10 a.m. May 18 in the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. The ordination Mass will be livestreamed on the diocesan website and can be watched on demand after that.
Since his ordination to the transitional diaconate last spring, Deacon Garvin has been ministering at St. Joseph Parish in Strongsville. He is the son of Mary Beth and the late Peter Garvin. His home parish is St. Hilary in Fairlawn.
“I am really excited to enter into the priestly life and to begin priestly ministry. And my family is excited for me, as well,” he said. “They’ll definitely be happy to have a priest in the family.”
Deacon Garvin credits participation in his parish youth group with helping him to identify and pursue his vocation. He joined the group while in high school and said he had thoughts of the seminary and priesthood during that time.
“I ignored them for most of high school, but after realizing how persistent these thoughts of the seminary were, I decided to look into it. And the rest is history,” he said.
As a priest, Deacon Garvin will be configured to Christ through the sacrament of holy orders. Diocesan priests serve the diocese under the direction of the local bishop. Most serve in parishes of the diocese but they may also be assigned to other positions.
After Deacon Garvin is ordained to the priesthood, he will serve as a parochial vicar at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Parma.
Two other men from the Diocese of Youngstown -- Deacon Kevin Bertleff and Deacon William Wainio -- will be ordained as priests on June 1 by Youngstown Bishop David Bonnar in St. Columbra Cathedral, Youngstown. They were ordained to the transitional diaconate in their home diocese of Youngstown last spring.
Deacon Garvin, Deacon Bertleff and Deacon Wainio earned master's in divinity and master of arts (theology) degrees on May 9 from Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology, where they also received their priestly formation.
The Cleveland Diocese has an agreement with the Youngstown Diocese to educate and form its seminarians.