With joy and thanksgiving, the Congregation of Holy Cross will celebrate the final profession of vows of five men at 2 p.m. Saturday, August 28, 2021, at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame.
Rev. William M. Lies, C.S.C., provincial superior of the Congregation of Holy Cross, United State Province of Priests and Brothers, will preside at the Mass and receive the vows of Mr. Drew Clary, C.S.C., Mr. Cameron Cortens, C.S.C., and Mr. Gabriel Griggs, C.S.C. He will also receive the vows of Mr. Shohag Gabil, C.S.C., and Mr. Tias Gomes, C.S.C., both of whom are from the Sacred Heart of Jesus Province in Bangladesh.
The five men will profess perpetual vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience according to the Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross. For the past several years, they have been in a period of temporary vows, which they renewed annually. On August 28, they will commit their lives and work to the communal life and ministry of Holy Cross.
They will be ordained to the Order of the Deacon at 10:00 a.m. Sunday, August 29, 2021, in the Moreau Seminary Chapel by the Most Rev. Edgar da Cunha, S.D.V., the Bishop of the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts.
A San Antonio, Texas native, Drew Clary is the oldest of four children of Pamela and Richard Clary, of Castroville, Texas. He graduated with a B.A. in economics and political science from the University of Notre Dame in 2009. He earned a master’s in education through the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) in 2011. He entered formation with the Congregation of Holy Cross in 2015 and earned his Master of Divinity in 2021.
Clary taught religious education at St. Adalbert Parish, South Bend (2015-16), and worked at La Parroquia de Nuestra Santísima Madre de la Luz (Nuevo León, Mexico), during the summer of 2016. While at the Holy Cross Novitiate (Cascade, Colorado) from 2016-17, Clary served at Penrose Hospital, Catholic Charities, Namasté Alzheimer Center, and at Sacred Heart Parish. He assisted at the Catholic Worker in 2017-18 and completed a language immersion program in Puebla, Mexico, during the summer of 2018. He also led small group Bible studies for Notre Dame Campus Ministry in 2018-19 and spent the summer of 2019 at the Oratory of St. Joseph in Montreal. Clary was an assistant rector at O’Neill Hall (University of Notre Dame) in 2019-20 and has been living and ministering at St. Adalbert and St. Casimir parishes in South Bend, Indiana since summer 2020. He will continue at St. Adalbert and St. Casimir parishes as a transitional deacon in preparation for priestly ordination.
Born in Syracuse, New York, Cameron Cortens is the oldest of four children of Caroline and Andrew Cortens, of Boise, Idaho. He graduated with a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame in 2013 where he also received his Master of Divinity in 2021.
During his first year of formation (2014-15), Cortens assisted with First Communion preparation at St. Adalbert Parish in South Bend. As a novice (2015-16), he provided spiritual care at Penrose Hospital and at Namasté Alzheimer Center, ministered to the homeless at Marian House, and offered various Sunday ministries at Sacred Heart Parish. Cortens was a life-skills counselor for Stone Soup Community (South Bend, Indiana) in 2016-17, and a service learning experience instructor at Holy Cross College (Notre Dame, Indiana) during 2017-18. In 2018-19, Cortens served at La Parroquia Nuestra Madre Santísima de la Luz (Nuevo León, Mexico) and worked for Catholic Peace Fellowship (South Bend, Indiana) during 2019-20. He served as an assistant rector at Keough Hall (University of Notre Dame) from 2020-2021. Cortens will spend his diaconate year in anticipation of priestly ordination at Holy Redeemer Parish (Portland, Oregon).
Gabriel Griggs grew up in South Bend, Indiana, and is the oldest of three children of Ann and Gladden Griggs. After receiving his B.A. in liberal studies and applied mathematics from the University of Notre Dame in 2014, Griggs began graduate work in statistics at Purdue University. He received his Master of Divinity from Notre Dame in 2021.
Griggs directed a parish discussion group at Holy Cross Parish (South Bend, Indiana) during his first year of formation (2015-16). In 2016-17, while at the Holy Cross Novitiate (Cascade, Colorado), Griggs served at the Marian House soup kitchen and at Namasté Alzheimer Center. In 2017-18, he worked at Ryan’s Place Children’s Grief Support Center (Goshen, Indiana), helping children and teenagers who have lost loved ones. Griggs spent 2018-19 teaching the Common Good Seminar at Holy Cross College (Notre Dame, Indiana) and 2019-20 as a chaplain for the Program of Liberal Studies at the University of Notre Dame. During his final year of formation, Griggs designed and taught a biblical interpretation course for alumni of the Program of Liberal Studies. He will spend his diaconate year in preparation for priestly ordination as the rector of Keough Hall, a men’s residence hall at the University of Notre Dame.
Shohag Gabil and Tias Gomes traveled from Sacred Heart of Jesus Province in Bangladesh to Notre Dame, Indiana, in 2017, when they began work on their Master of Divinity at the University of Notre Dame. Each was awarded the degree in 2021.
Shohag Gabil is the youngest of 11 children born to Lucy Gabil and Kamini Dikhar in Moulvibazar, Bangladesh. After arriving at Moreau Seminary, he taught Catechesis of the Good Shepherd at St. Pius X Catholic School (Granger, Indiana). From 2018-19 he taught children’s Liturgy of the Word at Holy Cross Parish (South Bend, Indiana). During his final year of formation, Gabil returned to teaching Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
Born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tias Gomes is the second of two children of Dipali and Bijoy Gomes. He graduated from Notre Dame College (Dhaka) in 2009, completed graduate studies there in 2013, and professed his first vows in 2014. In 2015-16, Gomes taught at Notre Dame College and then taught moral and religious education for 11th and 12th-grade students at Asad Gate Christian Boy’s Hostel. After arriving in South Bend, he served at Logan Industries and spent 2018-19 teaching Catechesis of the Good Shepherd at St. Matthew’s Cathedral. Other ministry-learning experiences have included Sanctuary at Holy Cross, and serving as a chaplain at St. Joseph Health System, working closely with long-term rehabilitation patients. During his last year of formation, Gomes worked at the St. Augustine Soup Kitchen (St. Augustine Parish, South Bend, Indiana), where he assisted in preparing food, welcoming guests, and distributing food to the poor and homeless, while also engaging with people with disabilities at the Art Studio.
As of this writing, the Sacred Heart of Jesus Province has not announced where Gabil and Gomes will serve upon their return to Bangladesh from Indiana.
