Seminarians grateful for the support of the faithful through Diocesan Ministries Appeal

‘LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE’  Lucas Folan, a diocesan seminarian studying at Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University in South Orange, is shown at the chapel on campus. Folan’s home parish is Notre Dame of Mount Carmel in Cedar Knolls. Seminarian education is one of the many ministries that the Diocesan Ministries Appeal supports. To make a pledge to the Appeal, visit www.2021appeal.org.

CLIFTON  For many young adults, their college years are a time of searching and figuring out what the future holds. For Lucas Folan, a diocesan seminarian, it was a time when he seriously began to discern a priesthood vocation, which began near the end of his freshman year at Hofstra University in Long Island, N.Y., where he was studying music education.

“Although I was raised in a faithful Catholic household, I was a little slow to keep up with my faith when I first moved into college,” said Folan, whose home parish is Notre Dame of Mount Carmel in Cedar Knolls. “After being invited to join the Catholic men’s group on campus, I quickly discovered that there existed young men my age who desired and were committed to growing in an authentic relationship with a good and loving God who desires a relationship with us.”

Folan was inspired by Father Joseph Scolaro, who was chaplain of Hofstra’s campus ministry at the time, and who inspired three other young men to enter the seminary after college. “I would not be in the seminary today had I not encountered the love of God through Eucharistic Adoration, regular confession, more frequent attendance at weekday Mass and devotion to Mary in the rosary,” the diocesan seminarian told The Beacon.

Today, Folan is in priestly formation at Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University in South Orange, and, with God’s grace, is expected to be ordained in 2027.

It is through the Diocesan Ministries Appeal that he is able to attend the seminary. Seminarian education is one of the many ministries the 2021 Appeal will support.

The Appeal will also support Catholic Charities agencies serving those in need in the Diocese, elementary students attending Catholic schools in inner-city areas; Nazareth Village, the retired diocesan priests’ residence in Chester, and the extraordinary health needs of priests. Individual parishes will also benefit from the Appeal as 50 percent of all funds received over a parish’s goal is returned to it for its own local needs.

Because of the support from the Diocese through the Appeal, Folan is grateful to be in the seminary. “One of the greatest gifts of being in the seminary is that our day is structured around prayer. We will typically start the day as a community with Morning Prayer, followed by Holy Mass. After that, we grab a quick breakfast before going about our day. It is common to have two or three classes on any given day, but we have other responsibilities to attend to as well. These may include some kind of house job, meeting with one’s spiritual director or priest mentor, or planning for an upcoming event at the seminary. We all come together again at the end of the day for Evening Prayer and dinner.”

Also at the seminary is a home-grown vocation from St. Anthony Parish in Paterson, Starli Castanos, a third-year theology student at the Immaculate Conception Seminary. He is expected to be ordained to the transitional diaconate in May 2022 and a year later, would be called to be ordained to the priesthood.

He attributes his grandparents’ faith as one of his reasons why he is where he is today. He felt separated from the Church after moving to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic where his grandparents lived. “It was emotionally hard because I was separated from my grandparents. This was something that lead me to be angry for quite some time. It was then in 2005 at the age of 11 that I came back to the Church after the death of my paternal grandfather. He left a letter to my siblings and myself. In the letter he wrote to me about his desire to want me to go back to Church and make my First Communion, which was something that I did,” the seminarian said.

In 2013, Castanos was accepted into formation to begin his studies for the priesthood and he is grateful for the support of his family, friends, and many priests. “It has been something that has helped tremendously throughout my years of formation in seminary,” he said. “In the life of a seminarian and priest, family is the greatest support that one can count on.”

To support the 2021 Diocesan Ministries Appeal, parishioners can make a one-time gift or make a pledge to be paid over several months. Credit card contributions can be made, as well as online gifts, which can be made at 2021appeal.org.

Funds donated to the Appeal will only be used for the purposes outlined.

The weekend of Oct. 30–31 is the In-Pew Commitment Weekend for the 2021 Dio­cesan Ministries Appeal. Parishioners will listen to a recorded homily via video or audio by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney and will be given an opportunity to make their pledge or gift to the Appeal, which will then be sent by the parish to the Diocese’s Development Office.

“May our good and loving God reward you for your generosity to his Church,” said Folan. “I do not have the words to adequately express my gratitude. Please pray that as seminarians, we may be faithful to the perfect will of God and loving shepherds of his people. We keep you in our prayers.”

Castanos added, “The contributions of lay people to the Diocesan Ministries Appeal has not just helped me but also many other seminarians. In a particular way, it has helped me for the past eight years receive the education and formation that I have today. To all those who have decided to support me in my formation, I cannot thank you enough. Know that without your generosity, I would have not been able to enter the seminary and fulfill God’s call. Please be assured that your support matters to the seminarians. Please know that we are trying our best to be inspired by the Holy Spirit so that we may better serve Christ’s Church in the next several decades.”

[ To support the Diocesan Ministries Appeal: www.2021appeal.org ]