On July 7th, Card. Daniel DiNardo, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, ordained 7 legionaries: Jared Loher, Justin Prigge, Jerek Scherber, John Studer, Samuel Tan, Nathan Torrey, and Cristopher Vogel. Monsignor Robert Fisher, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit and cousin of Fr. Nathan Torrey, LC, was also present at the ordination.
Cardinal Daniel DiNardo commented in his homily: «these 7 legionaries have been with Jesus and are now sent on different missions as ministers. Each comes with his own story, his studies, each with his own path, and now they go on a particular mission through the diaconate […]. The only thing asked of the deacon in this liturgy is to say that he is present. Saying “present” is all that is asked of us. God will do the rest. The stories to come, the preachings, their service, everything they do will be important but for now all we want to hear is “present”, God will do the rest. “Present” means: I want to be with Christ, I want to be like Him».
Father John Studer, LC, commented: «This is for me a moment of deep gratitude. It has been a moment to remember everything God has done in my life during this formation time and also to thank so many people, legionaries, formators, family, and friends who have supported me throughout these years».
Fr. Justin Todd Prigge, LC was born in November 1987 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. He entered the New Hampshire Vocational Center in 2001. On September 15, 2004, he entered the novitiate in Bad Münstereifel. From there, he went on to study humanities in Salamanca and philosophy in Rome. He completed his apostolic practices as a discipline prefect at the Rolling Prairie Vocational Center, Indiana. He made his perpetual profession on August 20, 2015. He studied a license in philosophy and a bachelor’s in theology at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum. He will soon begin his ministry at the apostolic house in Budapest.
Fr. John Paul Studer, LC was born in April 1986 in Houston, Texas. He was a member of the ECYD in Atlanta and a student at the Immaculate Conception Vocational Center in Center Harbor from 1998 to 2003. He entered the Cheshire Novitiate Center on September 15, 2003, and made his first religious profession in 2005. From 2005 to 2007, he studied humanities in Cheshire, where he also carried out apostolic practices as a humanities assistant until 2010. From 2010 to 2014, he studied a bachelor’s and license in philosophy at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome. From 2016 to 2017, he worked as a formation instructor and ECYD assistant at the Highlands Institute Pedregal in Mexico City. Afterwards, he returned to Rome to complete his theological studies.
Fr. Jared Loehr, LC was born on June 8, 1985, as the oldest of 4 children. After graduating from Blue Valley Northwest in Overland Park, Kansas, he earned a Nursing degree at the University of Kansas. He entered the Legion of Christ in Cheshire, Connecticut, where he did his novitiate and studied classical humanities. After studying for his bachelor’s in Philosophy in Thornwood, New York, he worked apostolically in Houston, Texas, as a teacher and retreat director. In 2018, he completed his theology studies at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome.
Fr. Nathan Torrey, LC was born in September 1984 in Louisiana, USA. Before entering the novitiate, he studied music at Louisiana State University (LSU). He entered the Cheshire Novitiate in Connecticut on September 15, 2004, and made his first religious profession there in 2006. From 2006 to 2007, he studied humanities in Cheshire, USA, and then began his philosophy studies at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome. In 2009, he began his apostolic practices in Philadelphia as an ECYD assistant and vocations promoter. Three years later, he returned to Rome to start his license in philosophy. After completing his license, he served as a humanities assistant in Monterrey, Mexico. In 2015, he returned to Rome to pursue his theological studies.
Fr. Jerek Scherber, LC was born in June 1988 in Minnesota, USA. In 2002, he entered the Vocational Center in New Hampshire, and in 2006, he began his novitiate in Cornwall, Canada. After two years of humanistic studies in Cheshire, he moved to Rome to begin his philosophical studies at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum. From 2012 to 2015, he carried out his apostolic practices as a novitiate assistant in Cornwall and Cheshire. He also served as an ECYD auxiliary in Houston, Texas. He returned to Rome in 2015 to start his theology bachelor’s degree.
Fr. Christopher Vogel, LC was born in December 1985 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He entered the New Hampshire Vocational Center in 2000 and the Dublin Novitiate in 2003, where he made his first religious profession on September 11, 2005. From 2005 to 2007, he studied classical humanities in Salamanca, Spain, and the bachelor’s in philosophy in Rome from 2007 to 2009. He completed apostolic practices as a formation instructor at the Irish Institute in Mexico City and as a discipline prefect at Dublin OAK Academy. On July 20, 2014, he made his perpetual profession. After his apostolic practices, he studied a license in philosophy and a bachelor’s in theology at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome. He currently collaborates at the Irish Institute in Mexico City as a formation instructor.
The diaconal ordination ceremony can be viewed by clicking on the following image:
