Seminarian With Local Ties Ordained A Deacon
Louisville, Ky. – David Farrell was one of five seminarians in formation for the priesthood in the Archdiocese of Louisville who were ordained deacons on March 25 by Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz. The other ordinands included are Robert Barnell, Brandon DeToma, Anthony Kien Trung Nguyen and Minh Dinh Vu.
Farrell, 28, whose home parish is St. John the Apostle Church in Brandenburg, Ky., attended Murray State University and is now in the third year of his theology studies at St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology. He is the son of Joseph and Patricia Farrell. He is the grandson of Isabelle and the late Cornelius Bittner of St. James Parish in Haubstadt.
For Farrell, the call to the priesthood began in a single moment, but grew slowly. At the time, he was a college student and meeting regularly with the campus minister. After an initial “a-ha moment,” he began teaching religious education at a local parish, and said his vocation took off from there.
Farrell said he views a priest as an individual who “bridges people to God.”
“He does this by praying daily for the whole world, preaching the Gospel to those in need of Christ and offering a real encounter with God’s love and mercy through the sacraments,” he said.
