Seminarian Elijah Buerkle with Bishop Michael Martin after the Rite of Candidacy Mass May 27 (Will Creter, Catholic News Herald)
CHARLOTTE — Diocese of Charlotte seminarian Elijah M. Buerkle has taken the next step in formation for the priesthood.
During a special Mass celebrated May 27 by Bishop Michael Martin at St. Patrick Cathedral, Buerkle publicly expressed his intention to complete his preparation for holy orders and his resolve to fully invest himself in that effort to serve Christ and the Church.
In a homily directed to Buerkle, Bishop Martin encouraged the seminarian to put his trust in God, focus on deepening his relationship with Jesus, and commit to sharing the Gospel with a world that is hungering for the Good News. The work of a priest should be about doing the work of God, he said, so “trust in Him, place your heart in His, put your hands to the plow, and don’t look back.”
“You’re not alone – you’re in fact part of something so much greater,” he told Buerkle. “We all commit ourselves to walking with you on this journey.”
The Rite of Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders is celebrated when a seminarian, usually in his second year of graduate study, has reached a maturity of purpose in his formation and has demonstrated the necessary qualifications for ordination.
Buerkle’s home parish is St. Mark in Huntersville. This fall, he will join three other Diocese of Charlotte seminarians who are studying in Rome at the Gregorian University and living at the Pontifical North American College.
The next steps in his formation are ministry of lector, ministry of acolyte, ordination to the transitional diaconate, and finally, ordination to the priesthood.
— Catholic News Herald
Buerkle with his family after Mass at St. Patrick Cathedral in which he took the next step in his formation for the priesthood (Will Creter, Catholic News Herald)