We pray in thanksgiving to God for the three new novices who “signed in” during a special Mass on Saturday, August 26, at the Paulist Fathers House of Mission and Studies at St. Joseph Seminary in Washington, D.C.

Our new novices are:

Philip Catalanotto, 25, a native of Long Island, NY.

Philip earned his bachelor’s degree from St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkhill, NY, where he studied philosophy, religious studies and communications arts. During his college years, he was active in campus ministry.

Eric Hernandez, 24, who hails from Corpus Christi, TX.

Eric earned a B.A. in philosophy with a minor in religious studies from Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi. During his college years, he was involved in campus ministry and young adult ministry at his church.

Fr. Sam Matthiesen, 31. Fr. Sam was ordained a diocesan priest in 2013 for the Diocese of San Angelo, TX.

Prior to entering our novitiate, he was associate pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Big Springs, TX.

Fr. Sam grew up on a cotton farm in Olfen, TX. He earned a B.A. in philosophy from Conception Seminary College in Missouri and a master of divinity from the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, TX.

During their novitiate year, Philip, Eric and Fr. Sam will be guided by Paulist Fr. Rich Colgan, our director of novices.  To gain a deep exposure to the Paulist community, they will travel with Fr. Rich to some of the parish, campus ministry centers and downtown centers served by Paulist Fathers around the United States.

Please pray for our new novices and all of our seminarians!