On Saturday, August 31, 2019, Br. Joseph DeAgostino, C.S.C., Vincent Nguyen, C.S.C., Joseph Pedersen, C.S.C., Zachary Rathke, C.S.C., and Gilbrian Stoy, C.S.C., professed forever the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in the Congregation of Holy Cross. In this, they became permanent members of the community and committed contributors to our common life and ministry. The following day, Vincent Nguyen, C.S.C., Joseph Pedersen, C.S.C., Zachary Rathke, C.S.C., and Gilbrian Stoy, C.S.C., were ordained deacons in the Moreau Seminary Chapel in Notre Dame, Indiana. The diaconate period will prepare these men for their Ordination to the priesthood which is anticipated for the Spring of 2020. Below please find photos and video from the Final Vow Mass.
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Video:
Below learn more about the men who professed their Final Vows in 2019.
Br. Joseph DeAgostino, C.S.C., 28
Year in formation:5th year professed scholastic
Hometown: Jackson, Michigan
Job/ministry placement:St. Andre Bessette Catholic Church, Portland, OR
What college did you attend: University of Notre Dame
What was your major in college? Medieval Studies
Patron Saint: St. Raphael the Archangel and St. Joseph
Top books:All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy, Seven Surrenders by Ada Palmer, The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde
Top musicians in your playlist:Five Finger Death Punch, Alan Walker, Asking Alexandria & Patrick O’Hearn
Hobbies: Reading, PC gaming, board games, roller blading, ice hockey, watching athletic events
Place in the world you’d most like to visit: Svalbard, Norway
Favorite way to pray: Spiritual Journaling, Meditation with Music
What drew you to Holy Cross? The sense of community combined with the wide and varied apostolates our men are engaged with in ministry.
Favorite quote from a Saint:“There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.” St. Thomas Aquinas
What does is mean to have a calling to be a brother? I would not identify myself as having an initial calling to be a brother. Instead, I found that in the process of discernment my prevailing desire was not for the sacramental ministry. Rather, my calling was to be a religious, to live in the community of the Congregation of Holy Cross, to live under the evangelical counsels, and to be with and for the people of God.
Vincent Nguyen, C.S.C., 26
Year in Formation: Transitional Deacon
Hometown: Warner Robins, Georgia
Job/ministry placement:Andre House, Phoenix, AZ
What college did you attend: University of Notre Dame
What was your major? Economics and Philosophy
Patron Saint: St. Vincent Ferrer
Top movie: Airplane!
Top books: Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
Top musicians in your playlist: Imogen Heap, Sia, Maclaine Diemer, A.J.R.
Most memorable liturgy you have attended: Closing Mass for World Youth Day 2013, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Hobbies: Cooking, card games and board games
Place in the world you’d most like to visit: Marseille, France
What drew you to Holy Cross? When I first visited Old College, it felt like home. The men in formation, the program, and the community all aided in that sense of belonging. I have found that those attachments have grown as I have continued in formation.
Favorite quote from Scripture: “I have become all things to all, to save at least some. All this I do for the sake of the gospel, so that I too may have a share in it.” 1 Corinthians 9:22-23
Joseph Pedersen, C.S.C., 31
Year in formation: Transitional Deacon
Hometown: Waterloo, Iowa
Job/ministry placement?Assistant Director of Old College
What college did you attend: University of Notre Dame
What was your major? Philosophy and Theology
Patron Saint: St. Joseph
Top movies:Canadian Bacon, The Man from Snowy River
Top books: The Reed of God, Gilead
Top musicians in your playlist: Audrey Assad, Josh Ritter
Most memorable liturgy you’ve attended: Easter Vigil at the Basilica as a sponsor
Hobbies: Hiking, camping, painting, reading
The place in the world you most want to visit: Tahiti
What drew you to Holy Cross? I was drawn to Holy Cross by the joyful witness of priests and brothers who lived happy, healthy and holy lives, filled with zeal for the mission of the Church.
What is your favorite quote from Scripture? “My sheep hear my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand.” Jn 10:27-28
Zach Rathke, C.S.C., 32
Year in Formation: Transitional Deacon
Hometown: College Station, Texas
Job/ministry placement:Puebla, Mexico for language school
What college did you attend:Texas A&M University
What was your major? Philosophy and Speech Communication
Patron Saint: St. Catherine of Siena
Top movie:Stand and Deliver
Top books:Lord of the World, by Robert Benson, Merton’s Palace of Nowhere by Finley
Top musicians in your playlist: Newton Faulkner and Joshua Radin
Most memorable liturgy you’ve attended:Tenebrae at the Novitiate: it mixed silence and moving music in a familiar, prayerful space.
Hobbies:Hiking
Place in the world you’d most like to visit: Jerusalam
What drew you to Holy Cross? The balance between apostolic ministry, community life, along with Moreau’s spirituality.
What is your favorite quote from Scripture? “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?…” Mt 6:25-34
Which vow do you find most life-giving or freeing? Why? Our vow of chastity does not just call us to a celibate life, but it also calls us to live in relationships marked by purity, service, and love in our Holy Cross community. While I have often found it difficult to “dwell together as brothers in unity,” I have also found that striving for patience and understanding with my Holy Cross brothers to be one of the most significant avenues of grace for me.
Gilbrian Stoy, C.S.C., 27
Year in formation: Transitional Deacon
Hometown: Little Falls, Minnesota
Job/ministry placement:Common Goods Food Cooperative
Where did you attend college: University of Notre Dame
What was your major? Pre-Med
Patron Saint: St. John the Baptist
Top movies: Snatch, In Bruges, Ocean’s 11
Top books:John Adams, Perelandra, Calvin and Hobbes
Top musicians in your playlist: Queen
Most memorable liturgy you’ve attended: Adoration at World Youth Day, Krakow, Poland
Hobbies: Reading, hiking, canoeing
Place in the world you most want to visit: Ireland
What drew you to Holy Cross? The witness of fun, happy, relatable men who were devoted to Christ and his Church.
Favorite quote from a Saint: “As one candle is lit from the flame of another, so is faith kindled by faith.” Romano Guardini, Servant of God
