BY BRIAN J. LOWNEY, Acting Editor
CRANSTON — More than 300 family members, friends and parishioners from several diocesan churches gathered May 16 at St. Paul Church for the Celebration of the Eucharist and the Rite of Ordination to the Diaconate for Joseph R. Upton and Derek J. Puleo.
Bishop Thomas J. Tobin presided and was the main celebrant of the ordination?Mass. Bishop Francis X. Roque and more than two dozen diocesan priests concelebrated, and several deacons assisted the bishop.
Bishop Tobin welcomed those gathered to the “beautiful, blessed event being celebrated on a beautiful day.”
Noting that the ordination was being celebrated during the Pauline Year as designated by Pope Benedict XVI, the bishop reminded the deacons to follow the example of St. Paul and to make Christ the center of their lives and ministry.
“This is a very special day in your life,” the bishop told the deacons. “Your ordination is a call, as it always has been, to humility and service.”
Deacon Upton, son of Patricia and Joseph, was born in Providence and attended Cranston public schools.
He entered the Seminary of Our Lady of Providence in 2001 and completed undergraduate studies at Providence College, where he earned a degree in philosophy.
In 2006, Deacon Upton began theological studies at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, Md. In 2007, he attended the Institute for Priestly Formation at Creighton University, Omaha, Neb. He has also served as a summer seminarian at St. Ann and Joseph churches, both in Providence, and in the Chaplaincy Program at Rhode Island Hospital.
Deacon Puleo, son of Carlotta, was born in Providence and educated in Pawtucket public schools. He graduated from Providence College in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in Health Policy and Management and was employed by the Rhode Island Department of Health and the Hospital Association of Rhode Island prior to entering the Seminary of Our Lady of Providence in 2005. In 2006, Deacon Puleo began his theological studies at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary. In 2008, he
attended the Institute for Priestly Formation at Creighton University, and served as a summer seminarian at St. Maria Goretti Church, Pawtucket, and St. Mary Church, Cranston.
Both deacons said that they are grateful to God for being called to the priesthood.
“I am grateful to God that he brought me here and to the people who have contributed to my journey,” said Deacon Upton. “I have seen the generosity of God incarnated in so many people over the last eight years and I am truly grateful.”
He added that he had been looking forward to receiving the sacrament of holy orders since he was a small child.
“I was four when I told my family that I wanted to be a priest,” Deacon Upton recalled.
“My experience of the diaconate – living it out fruitfully and faithfully, will be a solid foundation for my priesthood,” he continued. “This is a very important step.”
Deacon Upton’s father, Joseph, said that he and his wife Patricia were very proud of their only child.
“This is the happiest day of my life — and his, too,” he added.
Patricia Upton remembered the new deacon often telling his parents, “What’s going to make me happy is serving the Lord.”
She added that as a small boy, Deacon Upton always requested “holy gifts” such as statues and religious items to mark special occasions.
“We bought him Legos and he built a church,” she recalled, laughing.
Deacon Puleo said he was humbled that the Lord would call him to a life of faithful service.
“On one hand, I feel a sense of humility, but on the other hand, I am honored that Christ would call me to this ministry,” he said.
Deacon Puleo said that after working in the public sector for a few years, he realized that it was time answer God’s call.
“I knew that I was to do more in my life than what I was doing,” the deacon continued. “With the priesthood, you can make a difference in people’s lives that can last into eternity.
“The whole reason I want to be a priest is to bring people closer to Christ and to bring Christ more deeply into the lives of everyone,” Deacon Puleo said.
His mother, Carlotta Puleo, noted that she was very proud of her son.
“He has worked very hard,” she stated. “I am very happy that he has chosen to work for God.”
In June, Deacon Upton will begin serving a summer assignment at St. Margaret Church, East Providence, while Deacon Puleo will serve at St. Pius X Church, Westerly. Both deacons will serve a week as Catholic chaplain at Boy Scout Camp Yawgoo in Exeter, before returning to the seminary to complete their studies in the fall.
