Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, will ordain three men to the priesthood on

Saturday, May 20, 2006
Procession 9:45 a.m.
Mass 10:00 a.m.
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
18th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia

Ordination will take place during the Mass, following the homily. At the end of May, each of the newly ordained priests will be assigned to a parish in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia where they will serve as parochial vicars. A parochial vicar is a priest appointed by the Cardinal to assist the pastor of a parish.

Those being ordained are: Rev. Mr. Marc F. Capizzi, Rev. Mr. Ik-Joon Choi and Rev. Mr. Christopher R. Cooke. All have completed studies at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood.

Rev. Mr. Choi, a native of Seoul, South Korea whose home parish is Holy Angels in Philadelphia, used his degrees in biochemistry and secondary education from Lehigh University to teach high school science before entering St. Charles Seminary in 2000. Rev. Mr. Cooke, of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Richboro, Bucks County, left a career as a chemical engineer to discern the call to priesthood at the seminary in the same year. Following his second year in medical school, Rev. Mr. Capizzi at age 30 began to discern his vocation to priesthood, entering Saint Charles in 1999. His home parish is St. Patrick, in center city Philadelphia.


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Editor's Note: Photographs of the ordination candidates are available by e-mailing mgambino@adphila.org or calling the Office for Communications at 215-587-3747. Video cameras will not be permitted in the Cathedral during the Mass. Reporters and still cameras, with very limited movement, will be allowed. There will be a mult-box feed (audio and video) provided outside the Cathedral. Television/radio crews will need a BNC connector and recording deck.

Contact
Matthew Gambino
Associate Director
215-587-3747