The Most Rev. W. Francis Malooly, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, will ordain the Rev. Mr. J. M. Gregory Lee and Rev. Mr. John C. McVoy III, to the priesthood this weekend.
Malooly is scheduled to do the honors at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 8 at the Cathedral of St. Peter, Sixth and West streets.
Lee, 37, was ordained to the transitional diaconate on Dec. 5 and has served as a deacon at St. John the Beloved Parish in Milltown since his ordination. He is the son of Kwan-Soo Peter Lee and Cho-Gi Anna Lee of Feasterville, Pa.
He attended Plymouth Elementary School and Masterman High School. Lee earned a bachelors degree in bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in theology from the Washington Theological Union. He also received seminary training at St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore.
The newly ordained Lee is scheduled to celebrate his Mass of Thanksgiving (First Mass) at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, May 9 at St. John the Beloved Church. Lee will be the first Asian-American priest ordained for the Diocese of Wilmington.
“I pray that God will help me become a good priest and minister to his people with charity,” Lee said.
McVoy, 53, is a widowed father of three (Aklecia, Salem and Yohannes) and was ordained to the diaconate in September 2004. After his wife Bethlhem Kebede’s death in January 2004, he began preparation for the priesthood at Blessed John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Mass. A native of Paducah Kentucky, he is the son of Constance S. McVoy and the late John C. McVoy II.
McVoy attended Rosary School and Paducah Tilghman High School and earned degrees in chemistry and environmental toxicology from Howard and Florida A&M universities. He earned a master of divinity from Blessed John the XXIII National Seminary.
The newly ordained McVoy is scheduled to celebrate his Masses of Thanksgiving at 11 a.m. Sunday, May 9 at Sacred Heart Oratory in Wilmington and at 5 p.m. at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Bear. McVoy will be the first African-American priest ordained for the Diocese of Wilmington.
“As a [widower] and a father of three, to deny who I am would be to deny God,” McVoy said. “The seminary has facilitated and contributed to my personal and academic development allowing me to share and absorb the richness of priestly formation while celebrating my identity as a parent, father and servant of God.”
Those interested in more information about the Diocese of Wilmington’s efforts to increase vocations-awareness and to work with individuals who may have priestly or religious vocations should visit the Diocese of Wilmington’s website at www.cdow.org and click on the “vocations” link or visit www.calledbythelord.com or contact Rev. Joseph M.P.R. Cocucci, Director of Priestly and Religious Vocations at 302-573-3113 or jcocucci@cdow.org.
