Archbishop Leonard Blair of the Archdiocese of Hartford celebrated the installation of 17 new acolytes Oct. 24 at The Saint Paul Seminary in St. Mary’s Chapel.
One additional seminarian, Jasper Keller, will be installed in his home diocese of Fargo in summer of 2023.
Seminarians designated as acolytes assist at the altar and help distribute Communion during Mass. They are also commissioned to bring Holy Communion to the sick and purify the sacred vessels after Mass. Seminarians are typically installed as lectors – those who proclaim the Word of God in the liturgy – during their first year of theological studies, then made acolytes a year later.
The seminarians installed as acolytes are:
Nicholas Ahrens, Diocese of Sioux Falls
Martin Chouinard, Archdiocese of Hartford
Jordan Danielson, Diocese of Winona-Rochester
Nathaniel Daubner, Diocese of St. Cloud
Benjamin Eichten, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis,
Mónico Heredia, Diocese of Boise
Jasper Keller, Diocese of Fargo
Mitchell Kendrioski, Diocese of Hartford
Alexander Marquette, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis
Zachary Ochsenbauer, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis
Isaiah Olsem, Diocese of Winona-Rochester
Benjamin Peters, Diocese of Winona-Rochester
Joshua Richards, Archdiocese of Omaha
Randall Skeate, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis
J.P. Thornton, Diocese of Sioux Falls
Joseph VanDenheuvel, Diocese of St. Cloud
Timothy Welch, Diocese of Winona-Rochester
Hjalmar Blondal Gudjonsson, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis