On the solemnity of the annual celebration of the Catholic feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary recently, this author was invited by Jean O. Ng, an ardent parishioner of Saint Therese Church in the City of Alhambra, to experience the solemn rite of ordination to the sacred priesthood of Fr. Peter Mary Vecellio, of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, O.C.D. Fr. Peter was born in Minneapolis, MN. to parents: Raymund and Mary Vecellio, but was raised in the town of Minnetonka, MN. He attended St. Joseph’s Catholic Grade School and Benilde-St. Margaret’s Catholic High School. He further attended the University of Minnesota, but graduated at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Celebration of the Catholic feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary While at Franciscan University, he went through a major conversion in his life where he felt the “calling” to “offer his whole life to God ,” and become a priest. It was his mother, through the intercession of the Blessed Mother, who played an important role in guiding him go through the whole process. Fr. Peter chose to join the Order of Discalced Carmelites (O.C.D) because for him, “ultimately St. Therese and Our Lady led him to the Carmelite order and he was attracted to the Carmelites’ emphasis on prayer and the contemplative life.” According to historical accounts, the Order of Discalced Carmelites “was juristically erected in 1593 * They are commonly known as Secular Carmelites and they are an integral part of the Discalced Carmelite Order (OCD) and they are juristically dependent upon the Discalced Read More …
