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IN THE DIOCESE
April 24, 2018 | The Valley Catholic
Thomas Flowers, SJ, Ordained a Transitional Deacon
Thomas Flowers, SJ, son of Deacon
Phil and Sarah Flowers of Morgan Hill,
was ordained a transitional Deacon at
the Church of the Gesù in Rome on
April 3 by Cardinal Walter Kasper. The
younger Deacon Flowers was ordained
along with fifteen other Jesuits, his class-
mates at the Collegio Internationale del
Gesù, in the presence of Father Arturo
Sosa, the General Superior of the Society
of Jesus (Jesuits). Deacon Flowers and
his classmates represent ten different
countries, including Canada, Cuba,
Croatia, India, Thailand, and Portugal.
They are all studying theology at the
Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome
and will be ordained priests over the
coming year.
Deacon Flowers will be ordained a
priest in San Diego on June 9. He grew
up in Morgan Hill and attended Bellar-
mine College Preparatory in San Jose. At
Saint Catherine parish in Morgan Hill,
he was an altar server and a member of
the high school Confirmation team. He
entered the Society of Jesus in 2007. Dur-
ing his formation as a Jesuit, he studied
philosophy and history at Saint Louis
University, taught world history and
religion for two years at Bellarmine, and
worked for a year on the U.S./Mexican
border with deported migrants at the
Kino Border Initiative before being sent
to Rome for theology. He is also the
author of two books: Walking Humbly:
Scripture Meditations in Verse and God’s
April
25 Wed, California Catholic Conference Meeting, Visalia Marriott, Visalia
26 Thurs, California Catholic Conference Meeting, Visalia Marriott, Visalia
27 Fri, Region XI Encuentro, Visalia Convention Center, Visalia
28 Sat, Region XI Encuentro, Visalia Convention Center, Visalia
29 Sun, Region XI Encuentro, Visalia Convention Center, Visalia
30 Mon, 7 p.m., Mass, Most Holy Trinity Church, San Jose
May
Deacon Thomas Flowers, SJ and Deacon Phil
Flowers in front of the tomb of Saint Ignatius,
Church of the Gesù, Rome. (Photo credit:
Sarah Flowers)
Invitation: Meditations on a Covenant
Relationship.
After his ordination as a priest, he
will serve at Most Holy Trinity parish
in San Jose for the summer, before going
to England in the fall to complete his
doctorate in history at the University
of York.
Thomas Flowers’ parents went to
Rome for the ordination. His father,
Phil, a permanent deacon of the Diocese
of San Jose, participated in the liturgy,
including vesting his son in his new
deacon vestments.
“Our vocations developed sepa-
rately, and have taken different paths,”
says Deacon Phil, “but it was wonderful
to celebrate together our shared service
to the people of God.”
Detention Ministry Training Set
The next training session for Deten-
tion Ministry in the Santa Clara County
Correctional Facilities will be held on
May 19 at the Chancery, 1150 N. First
Street, San Jose from 9-11 a.m.
This training will be primarily for
brand new volunteers. You are needed
to direct prayer services and bible
studies and possibly to accompany
individual inmates through the RCIA
process.
If you think you are interested
in serving incarcerated persons and
would like further information, please
contact Sister Maryann Cantlon at
(408) 983-0131 or at [email protected].
Are you connected with the Diocese of San Jose?
Visit us online
www.dsj.org
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Diocese of San Jose
The Valley Catholic
Publisher
Bishop Patrick J. McGrath
Executive Editor and Communications Director
Liz Sullivan
[email protected]
Production Manager
Yesenia Cabrera Hall
[email protected]
Business Manager
To be announced
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and January (when one issue is published). The Valley Catholic is not
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Wed, 7:30 p.m., ILM Graduation, Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph, San Jose
Thurs, 8:30 a.m., Mass and Visit, Holy Spirit School, San Jose
Thurs, 5:30 p.m., Principals Appre