PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Reverend Mr. Andrew F. Lane, ENS, USNR, a candidate for the Catholic priesthood and United States Military chaplaincy, was ordained a transitional deacon on Saturday, May 8, 2021, in Philadelphia, PA. He hopes eventually to serve as a U.S. Navy chaplain with endorsement and faculties from the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS). The new deacon is on track to be ordained a priest next year and hopes to go on active duty following a three-year period of pastoral service in his home Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
The Rev. Mr. Lane, 26, is participating in the program for priestly formation at St.
Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, PA. His diaconal ordination was celebrated at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul through the laying of hands and the prayer of consecration invoking the Holy Spirit by Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez, D.D. AMS Auxiliary Bishop Joseph L. Coffey concelebrated the 10:00 a.m. ordination Mass. Due to COVID-19 occupancy restrictions in Philadelphia, attendance was limited, but the Mass was livestreamed on the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary’s Facebook page.
Among the limited number in attendance were the new deacon’s parents, Michael and Maria Lane, his grandfather, Dr. Jess Stone, and two siblings, Ms. Angela Lane and Mr. Peter Lane. Another brother, U.S. Army Specialist John Lane, is on active duty with the 82nd Airborne Division and could not attend.
The Rev. Mr. Lane attended high school at Aquinas Academy in Bear, DE, before entering a minor seminary, Immaculate Conception Apostolic School in Center Harbor, NH, where he graduated in 2012. At St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, he has earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy and a Master of Divinity Degree. Upon his priestly ordination next year, the Rev. Mr. Lane will be assigned to St. Katherine of Siena Catholic Church in northeast Philadelphia, where he will begin a three-year period of pastoral service before going on active duty in the Navy.
Commenting on his diaconal ordination, the Rev. Mr. Lane said, “It was overwhelming to be ordained a deacon after so many years of preparation in the seminary. I can’t help but feel that it all went so fast. The last few years here have been marked by the peace of recognizing God’s presence and guidance in my path to the priesthood.”
The eventual priestly service of the Rev. Mr. Lane and other Catholic chaplain candidates is greatly anticipated by the Navy, which, like all other branches of the U.S. Military, continues to suffer a chronic shortage of Catholic chaplains. Currently, only 50 priests are on active duty in the Navy, serving a large population of Catholics based worldwide in the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, as well as, their families.
Young men interested in discerning a priestly vocation, and the vocation within a vocation to serve those who serve in the U.S. military, can find more information at www.milarch.org/vocations, or may contact the AMS Office of Vocations directly by email at vocations@milarch.org.
Donations in support of AMS Vocations are gratefully accepted at www.milarch.org/donate.
