The Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary are pleased to announce that two Ordination Masses were held at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, this week.

The second was held on Saturday, May 9, at the 9:00 a.m. Mass. The National Shrine was the setting for the ordination of Deacon Patrick Lynch, MIC, to the priesthood. Once again, The Most Reverend Juan Miguel Betancourt, SEMV, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut was the celebrant (his first priestly ordination as bishop!) and conferred the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

In his homily, Bishop Betancourt reminded us that a priest shares in the one eternal priesthood of Jesus Christ.

“A priest is first chosen and consecrated by God,” he explained. “The priesthood begins not with human ambition, but with Jesus’ call and divine anointing. Before a priest speaks, teaches, absolves, or offers the sacrifice of the Mass, he is first chosen and consecrated by God. The Lord takes a man from among his people, and sends him back to them as a sacramental sign of Christ’s own presence. This is what makes the ministry of priesthood unique. The priest does not act merely in his own name or according to own ideas or preferences. He shares in the one eternal priesthood of Jesus Christ.”

“So, dear brother,” the Bishop continued, “never lost the amazement that the Lord has called you to stand at His altar and speak His words: ‘This is My Body. This is the chalice of My Blood.’”

The priesthood is never lived in isolation, he added. “It is always a life poured out for others. And this offering of self must be marked by joy, humility, and prayer. Never forget that the priesthood is most fruitful when it reflects the Heart of Jesus Himself: Merciful, humble, obedient, and filled with love.”

Addressing all present, including the Marian Fathers, family members, and friends, the Bishop concluded, “No vocation grows in isolation. The Lord has used your example, encouragement, sacrifices, and prayers to help bring this day to fulfillment. The ordination we celebrate today belongs not only to one man but also to the entire Church.”

Following the Mass, all gathered for a festive lunch in the St. Faustina Center, where Fr. Patrick offered blessings, reflected on his 9 years of formation, and expressed his thanks to Bishop Betancourt, his brother Marians, his family, and friends. “All of you here are just a proof to me of the power and beauty of God’s providence,” he said. “It’s such a great day of joy.”

Father Lynch paid special tribute to his family present today. “It was just so moving today to look at my family in the front pew, and to think back of when my parents, Griff and Denise, taught me the faith. They were my first teachers in the faith, and in a real way my priesthood and my life as a religious built upon the foundation that they gave me. Mom and Dad, I am so grateful for all you have done for me, and I love you with all my heart.”

Father Patrick will celebrate his first Mass on Mother’s Day, tomorrow, Sunday, May 10 at 9 a.m. ET at the National Shrine. The Mass will be livestreamed. He will be assigned to the Marian Centre for Catholic Life in London, England, working alongside Fr. Alex Pumphrey, MIC.

Please pray for Father Patrick and all of our Marian priests, brothers, and seminarians!

Is God calling you to be a priest? Or do you know a young man who would make an ideal priest? Contact us!

The Lynch Family

Father Chris Alar, MIC, greeting the Bishop and all assembled.

Father Thomas R. Nau of the Diocese of Steubenville, Ohio, is friend and spiritual director to both Fr. Lynch and Fr. Alex Pumphrey, MIC. "It's been amazing to be on the journey to priesthood with both of them, and to see the Lord's call being fulfilled," Fr. Nau said.

Father Patrick Lynch, MIC
Father Patrick, 30, was born in Princeton, New Jersey, one of six children of Denise and Griff Lynch. “My siblings and I were raised in a very devout Catholic family, but I was not really interested in my faith very much until I was about 13 or 14,” he admits. “At that time in my life I had a real conversion of heart and wanted to learn about God.”

Thanks to his Mom’s suggestion, Fr. Patrick began studying the Baltimore Catechism, famous for its question-and-answer format (“Why did God make me?” “God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in Heaven.”). “Catholicism is fascinating when it is presented well, and I was captivated by what I was learning through my study of the Baltimore Catechism and other books,” Fr. Patrick relates. “I also began reading the lives of the saints, and that was my first real exposure to the vocation to religious life.”

When he was 19, a friend invited Patrick and his Dad to make a pilgrimage to the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy. “Father Timothy Childers, who was then a seminarian, gave us a wonderful tour and told us about the charism of the Marians,” he recalls. He got in touch with Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, attended a “Come & See” retreat, and entered the program in 2017.

A linguist, fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin, Fr. Patrick worked on the multi-year project translating the writings of St. Stanislaus Papczyński, Founder of the Marians. In 2022, he was sent to live at the Marian House in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to study theology.