Ordinands share the stories behind their chalices

Blessed Mother will be with him as he celebrates Mass

I picked out my chalice in New York at a place called Adrian Hamers, who was a silversmith in Europe and got into the business of making chalices. Now, it’s a family business run by his kids.

One thing I was really looking for in a chalice had to do with the Blessed Mother. I want to consecrate my priesthood to Our Lady and put my priesthood under her protection, so I wanted a chalice that in some way would reflect Our Lady. 

In some ways, the chalice is a symbol of Our Lady because just as Our Lady carried our Lord in her womb for nine months, the chalice carries within it the Precious Blood.

Just as the priest is in the person of Christ as he offers the sacrifice of the Mass, and, just as Christ offered himself on the cross,  Our Lady was standing there at the foot of the cross, offering her son even as he offered himself to the Father.

She was joining with him in a very priestly act of the baptismal priesthood. As she offered her son at the foot of the cross, I had this image that she stands next to every priest who offers the Mass. 

The chalice I ended up choosing has on the base six scenes from the life of Christ, including the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Crucifixion and the Ascension. Mary occurs in several of the images, including at the foot of the cross.

The chalice is heavier than it looks, and that surprised me. That’s just another reminder, I guess, of the cross. This is not a show; this is not a performance; this is a sacrifice and a laying down of one’s life. 

To be Christ’s minister, to be standing in the person of Christ at the Mass, the weight of the chalice can remind me of the sacrifice that is inseparable from true love.

I also feel it’s important to support good art, which is truly beautiful and which reflects an artisan’s work. My grandparents, John and Janice Montelepre, helped me to purchase the chalice.

As a priest, I am most looking forward to the awesome and humbling privileges of offering the Mass and absolving the sins of the people of God in the sacrament of penance; but also, personally, I look forward to giving blessings of all kinds, whether of houses, spouses on their anniversary, rosaries, travelers or anything else – no blessing is too small!

– Peter Finney Jr.

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Andrew Octavio Gutierrez
Age: 25
Hometown: Metairie
First priestly assignment: St. Catherine of Siena, Metairie

Parents journeyed with him on path to priesthood

My mom wanted to be influential in finding and buying the chalice, so my mom and dad and I went to find a chalice at this place in New York – a chalice showcase. It was really special for my mom to come with me, but also for my dad because he will be the only deacon at my first Mass of Thanksgiving.       

For him to be with me when I found the chalice that he would then hold up with me during the doxology is pretty special. For us, it was a getaway trip right after my (transitional) diaconate ordination (last year) and one where we were thinking, “This is actually going to happen.”

My parents, at first, were reluctant supporters of the idea of my becoming a priest. I think they were worried I might be lonely or bored or not happy because I was a gregarious child at St. Clement of Rome and at Archbishop Rummel High School and the two years that I was studying psychology at Louisiana State University. It took them stepping up in faith as I was increasing my faith.

When I was growing up, I witnessed my father living out his faith as written in Matthew 25 “to love the least among us” and helping others through the Hispanic Apostolate and Catholic Charities  Archdiocese of New Orleans. Then he began studying to become a permanent deacon, which coincided with my seminary studies, first at St. Joseph Seminary College and then at Notre Dame Seminary.

In my parents’ conversion of heart, they came to love it for me and see the priesthood in a new light.

My chalice is gold and engraved with my name. I had asked for some type of crucifixion image, and at the base of this crucifix, the crucifixion scene is depicted, with Mary and John at the foot of the cross. What I loved about this was seeing the intimacy the Blessed Mother has for her priests and the protection that she particularly gives them as they imitate, and are, her son in the world. 

That also reminds me of my own mom – who is the top woman in my life and such a support. My mom intercedes; she sacrifices; and she fasts for me. Having the Blessed Mother on my chalice is also a reminder of my mom.

As a priest, I am most looking forward to offering the sacrament of confession, through which Catholics can experience the type of freedom and the completely unjudgmental, merciful love that comes from being united with Jesus.

– Christine Bordelon

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Daniel Chinedu Okafor
Age: 37
Hometown: Ideani, Anambra State, Nigeria
First priestly assignment: Blessed Trinity, New Orleans

Chalice a gift from Mary Queen of Peace KC

Several months ago, the Vocation Office of the Archdiocese of New Orleans sent an email to all New Orleans seminarians who were preparing for ordination to the priesthood,  but who might not have been able to obtain a chalice for their ordination.

I was one of the ones to receive an email from the Knights of Columbus 4th Degree Assembly 2922 at Mary Queen of Peace Parish in Mandeville, offering to help provide me with a chalice. 

I am truly indebted to Michael Enright, who is a member of Memorial Chalice Committee. The committee raises funds each year to provide a newly ordained priest with a chalice, paten and carrying case.     

Each chalice is presented in memory of deceased members of the assembly.

Mr. Enright told me that since starting the program, the assembly has presented 14 chalices to newly ordained priests. 

For the Knights of Columbus to do this is truly awesome and inspiring. We use the chalice to offer the sacrifice of the Mass, and for them to do this for me and for previous deacons is a sign of their participation in the formation of priests. 

It’s also a symbolic way of sharing in the eucharistic sacrifice of Christ.

I won’t receive the chalice from the Knights in time for my first Mass of Thanksgiving on June 1 at Blessed Trinity Church, but it is supposed to arrive in July or August. Since I won’t have that chalice, I will use another chalice from the archdiocesan archives. 

No sacrifice can be so called without the shedding of blood, and this is true in all religions. That’s why for the salvation of the world, Christ shed his own blood to free us from our estrangement and reconcile us with the Father. 

The chalice is the profound representation of this huge sacrifice Christ paid for us all and a constant reminder to me that I’m called to be his follower, even to the point of shedding my own blood for him, his people and his church!

I am excited to serve the people of Blessed Trinity Parish. I graduated from Notre Dame Seminary last year, and I have spent an extended internship in the parish.

I’ve learned so much by journeying with the people and dealing with real-life situations. It’s different from what we do in school, which deals more with the theological principles. 

I have seen what people are going through, and I know them.

– Peter Finney Jr.

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Leon Keller Poché Jr.
Age: 61
Hometown: Crowley, Louisiana; resident of New Orleans since 1980
First priestly assignment: St. Mary Magdalen, Metairie

Late wife’s jewels, saintly medals encrust chalice

I went to New York to pick out my chalice in person. It is gold and about 10 inches tall. I was looking for something relatively simple, because my wish was to add some of my late wife’s jewelry to it.

A priest who preceded me in seminary, who was also a widower, gave me an idea of how to decorate the base. I asked a local jeweler to cut my wedding band in the form of a cross and lay my wife’s wedding band right on top of it. The resulting design suggests a Celtic cross. 

My wife, Maureen, also had a pair of diamond stud earrings, one of which she had lost in Hurricane Katrina. She had held onto the other earring, saying that someday she wanted to do something special with it. With this in mind, I asked the jeweler to take the diamond from this earring and place it at the center of the cross formed by our two wedding bands.

These merged rings occupy one of six distinct sections on the base of my chalice. The other five sections are encrusted with medals depicting St. Joseph, St. Peter, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Holy Family and Our Lady of Prompt Succor – the latter chosen because of my family’s ties to Ursuline Academy. Ursuline is the alma mater of Maureen, her mother and our daughter, and is the current school of our granddaughter. Maureen and I were  also active on the shrine’s board of trustees in the years leading up to her death.

Six other chalice jewels – a small round diamond above each of the six base sections – also belonged to my wife. I would give her a single diamond on every wedding anniversary, and she had had a bracelet made out of them. I asked the jeweler to choose six and place them on my chalice.

The inscription on the bottom of the chalice will include my name and ordination date, the words “in union with Maureen Poché,” and her date of death.

I am thrilled about the way my chalice turned out. Every time I celebrate Mass, I will also be able to remember my wife.

At Mass, the chalice reminds us of the sacrifice Jesus made for us, so if priests are to celebrate it to the best of their ability, making this sacred vessel meaningful is important.

As a priest, I am most looking forward to celebrating the Mass and sharing the experiences of my life to help others in their times of need. As someone who was married for 35 years, cared for a sick spouse and knows the challenges of family life, I think I have a unique perspective from which to help people.

– Beth Donze

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Andrew Charles Rudmann
Age: 30
Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
First priestly assignment: St. Clement of Rome, Metairie


Family’s Slovenian roots reflected in chalice

I was given my chalice over the Christmas holidays by Father Joseph Boznar, pastor of St. Vitus, a Slovenian parish in Cleveland, which was my childhood parish. Slovenian culture has influenced my life, so it is significant that Father Boznar presented it to me.

My mother was the first generation born in this country. My grandparents were refugees. I didn’t realize how important my Slovenian culture was to me until my ordination came on the horizon. This is the faith to me,  my connection to the incarnation and my understanding of what culture can bring to faith.

I hadn’t really thought of the kind of chalice I wanted, but I did tell Father Boznar that what I really wanted was a connection to my Slovenian heritage. I thought it would be cool. I told him, “I know that there is some safe in some parish in Slovenia that just has this chalice waiting for me.” He told me, “It’s funny you’re saying this,” and when I visited the parish for Christmas, Father Boznar handed me a chalice he had locked in a safe.

Father Boznar had uncovered the chalice two years earlier after treasure hunting and finding a box in a drawer in the sacristy of a closed parish, St. Lawrence. He told me, “This is a chalice made in Slovenia. If you like it, it’s yours.” So, I had this Slovenian chalice just waiting for me!

There are several special features of the chalice. It’s 110 years old; it’s engraved with the name “Ljubljana” (the capital of Slovenia) and the name of the chalice maker; and there are images of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Lawrence and St. Aloysius Gonzaga.

Every time I lift that chalice, I am reminded of the incarnation. I am reminded that our faith is not something simply that we do on Sunday or a nice extracurricular activity. It’s who we are as human beings. It is who we are as the people of God – the people that God created for himself.

My journey to the priesthood has been discovering who I am and how God is calling me to love people.

I look forward to being able to fully love people as my heart desires. To not only walk with them, be with them, minister to them and teach them, but also to offer them the sacraments, to absolve their sins, to offer Mass for them and to really be Christ to them. I see that as the fullness of who I am, who God has called me to be.

Not only will I have a Mass of Thanksgiving here, I will celebrate Masses in Cleveland at my elementary school parish, St. Joan of Arc in Chagrin Falls and a traditional Slovenian Mass at St. Vitus Parish, with where my family will have a role, dressed in Slovenian apparel.

                – Christine Bordelon

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Damian Patrick Zablocki
Age: 41
Hometown: Toledo, Ohio
First priestly assignment: Most Holy Trinity, Covington

Chalice was originally used by Benedictines

My chalice is an antique one, about 11 inches tall and made of silver overlaid with gold plating. It previously belonged to St. Mary German Catholic Church in Allegheny, Pennsylvania.

The chalice came into my possession in a very providential way. I had purchased a plain silver chalice from Italy at an antique store in New Jersey for about $400, intending to make that my ordination chalice. The pastor of the parish where I was stationed in Newark, New Jersey – Msgr. Joseph Ambrosio – had found another chalice at a warehouse which had obtained religious items from closed churches throughout the United States. He purchased the chalice, not knowing anything about it, and asked me if I wanted the more ornate of the two.

We exchanged chalices.

Afterward, I learned that the chalice had come from a now-closed parish in North Pittsburgh run by the Benedictines, in whose seminary I had done the majority of my seminary studies! So it had a wonderful connection for me.

The chalice dates from the 1850s and was made in Germany. It has been largely kept the same, with the exception of new gold plating for the cup and paten. A cross added to the foot of the chalice was donated by a very close friend and family member. The foot also features reliefs of the faces of Jesus, Mary and St. Joseph.

On the bottom, beneath the original German inscription from the parish it belonged to, I added in Italian (to honor the many Italian-Americans who have supported and loved me) my thanks to people in my life who made my vocation possible.

Chalices are sacred vessels because they hold the blood that the savior of the world spilt for our salvation and which is offered to us every day in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. He wishes so much to be with us and reside within us, that he comes to us in an act we must do every day to live: to eat and to drink.

As someone raised in the Russian Orthodox Church, it was common practice for the faithful to kiss the base of the chalice after receiving holy Communion. So the chalice has always had a deep significance to me and to all the history of the Church, for in it the savior comes to us. It holds in it the hope of all the earth, our conversion, our peace and our faith.

It also symbolizes, for me, the great unworthiness I have to touch or use Christ’s Body and Blood in the Holy Mass. Yet even in my unworthiness, Christ has not turned me away from serving his people and uses even the least of his children for his work. For this I will be in awe and grateful until my last breath. 

As a priest, I am looking forward to serving the people of God’s holy church, offering sacrifice for the living and the dead, and most especially, serving the faithful of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

– Beth Donze