A standing-room-only crowd witnessed the ordination of five men to the priesthood of the Archdiocese of Louisville on June 1 at St. Michael Church in Jeffersontown. During a morning Mass, Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre ordained Father Matthew H. Millay, Father Kenneth B. Nauert Jr., Father Michael L. Schultz, Father Van D. Tran, and Father Yen Van Tran.

The men, who were ordained to the transitional diaconate a year ago, processed into the church with the deacons of the archdiocese and then took seats in the pews surrounded by family and friends. The liturgy began with a greeting from the archbishop, who also recognized the families of Fathers Van Tran and Yen Tran, who were watching the live stream of the ordination from their homes in Vietnam. His greeting was translated into Vietnamese and several other aspects of the Mass were in Vietnamese.

Before the Rite of Ordination, Archbishop Fabre spoke directly to the ordinands, saying, “I hope my reflections in this homily will help you as you embark into the deep waters of priestly ministry.” Noting the adage “familiarity breeds contempt,” he said that when something becomes too familiar, it’s easy to “lose our sense of awe and wonder.”

“Priests, too, can become too familiar with the call of God given to them and too familiar with the grace of ordination,” he said. “Priests can become complacent and, sadly, even cynical, which often leads most tragically to their self-imposed isolation.” He asked the ordinands to consider: “How can you positively hold onto the zeal you feel right now?”

Archbishop Fabre provided four tips to help them, which he said were presented by Pope Francis in a speech he gave to priests in 2022. Archbishop Fabre concluded by thanking the men “for their ‘yes’ to the Lord.” Noting that he will mark the 35th anniversary of his ordination as a priest in August, he told them, “I pray that your priesthood will bring you even more grace than the abundance of grace my time and service to the Lord has brought to my life.”

“I always stand ready to help you,” he added, “in any way that I can.”

The new priests have been given assignments as follows:

- Father Millay (28), associate pastor of Holy Spirit and St. Leonard churches.

- Father Nauert (28), canon law studies at The Catholic University of America School of Law in Washington, D.C., with summer residence at St. Rita Church.

- Father Schultz (26), associate pastor of St. Albert the Great Church.

- Father Van Tran (35), associate pastor of St. Michael Church.

- Father Yen Tran (35), associate pastor of St. Margaret Mary Church.