“I am excited to ordain eight men to the priesthood this year,” Bishop Edward Malesic said, adding this will be the largest class he has ordained in his nearly 10 years as a bishop. He called the large ordination class a blessing for the diocese. The men are among 405 who will be ordained to the priesthood across the country this year.
Ordination will take place at 10 a.m. May 17 in the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in downtown Cleveland. The liturgy will be livestreamed and can be viewed on demand.
Those who will be ordained for service to the Diocese of Cleveland are:
- Deacon Ryan Michael Arto, son of Gary and Jeanine Arto of Akron, St. Francis de Sales Parish, Akron.
- Deacon Christopher Lawrene Cotone, son of Norman and Donnalee Cotone of Parma Heights, St. John Bosco Parish, Parma Heights.
- Deacon Anthony Aaron Donatelli, son of Tony and Erin Donatelli of Hudson, St. Mary Parish, Hudson.
- Deacon James Jonathon Hawkins, son of James and Carolyn Hawkins of Wadsworth, Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, Wadsworth.
- Deacon Jeffrey LeVance Lindholm, son of Bradley and Shelley Lindholm of Westlake, St. Raphael Parish, Bay Village.
- Deacon James Alexander Parisi, son of Dr. Edward and Christine Parisi of Copley, St. Hilary Parish, Fairlawn.
- Deacon Brian Matthew Peters, son of William and Pam Peters, Columbus, Ohio, St. Raphael Parish, Bay Village.
- Deacon Kyle Jacob Rosser, son of Linda and John Rosser of Lorain, St. Peter Parish, Lorain.
The men, who have been serving as transitional deacons during the past year, have been in formation at Saint Mary Seminary. All received a master of divinity degree and seven of the eight earned a master of theology degree at last week’s seminary commencement.
A ninth, Deacon Travis David Seagraves, son of Daniel and Cathy Seagraves of Warren, St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish, Warren, has been called to ordination for the Diocese of Youngstown. He will be ordained at 10:30 a.m. June 7 in St. Columba Cathedral, Youngstown, by Youngstown Bishop David Bonnar.
Most of the local ordinandi were among the 309 nationally who completed the annual survey conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, also known as CARA, at Georgetown University. The survey was conducted from Jan. 10 through March 20.
Major findings of the 2025 ordination report indicate that nine of 10 respondents (89%), reported being encouraged to consider the priesthood by someone in their life, most frequently by a parish priest (60%) or a fellow parishioner (42%).
Three-quarters of the respondents participated in Eucharistic adoration (78%) on a regular basis before entering the seminary.
Most of the ordinands received formation at a seminary in the Midwest (37%).
Thirty-five percent of the respondents indicated they first considered the priesthood during elementary school, with 20% saying they first considered the vocation in high school.
Among this year’s ordination classes, 46% said they attended a Catholic elementary school and 36% attended a Catholic high school.
Most respondents, 92%, were baptized Catholic as infants and raised primarily by their biological parents (95%) and a married couple living together (89%).
The entire CARA 2025 ordination study can be viewed here.