Archbishop Shelton Fabre will ordain Evrard Muhoza as a Transitional Deacon at 11 a.m. on April 26 at the Cathedral of the Assumption.

By Evrard Muhoza

My family came to Louisville as immigrants in 2014. It did not take me long until I felt the call to priesthood. At the time, I was a sophomore at Jeffersontown High School. After my graduation in 2018, I started seminary at Bishop Simon Brute College Seminary while I took classes at Marian University. I remember the first evening at Brute, we prayed Compline, and I heard the organ. At that moment, I knew I was going to enjoy being in seminary.

However, I had challenges from the beginning. Since I had not been in the United States for long, I was not prepared to study philosophy in English. I remember during the first semester, some of my classmates would finish their writing assignments while I was still writing my introduction, and they would come to distract me. However, I felt supported by them. Often, we would study as a group, which helped me a lot. As time passed, my English improved, and I felt more comfortable about seminary life.

After my graduation in 2022, Fr. Chandler, who was the vocation director at the time, asked me to continue seminary formation at St. Meinrad. It’s been a blessing to continue formation at St. Meinrad. In addition to the daily Eucharist and the Benedictine influence in my spiritual life, I have especially enjoyed spending time with the seminarians from Louisville on Mondays. When I arrived in 2022, I spent Monday evenings with Conor McClure and now Fr. Matthew Millay in the kitchen at the Unstable making pizzas and wings for the community. It was very special. Since then, we have continued the tradition, and I still work with Conor to this day. Our new seminarians, who are still not allowed to work, usually join us for prayer and supper when it is less busy.

In addition to having my diocesan brothers and classmates, I do enjoy the company of seminarians from Africa, whom I represented last year. We share the same hobbies, and often similar experiences of childhood. When time and weather allow, we cook together and play soccer and board games.

I have also been entrusted to organize liturgies for international seminarians. Last year, I also served as a representative for all international seminarians. It was a lot of work to incorporate sixteen languages into one Mass. This year, I am among the five prefects who assist the formation deans. All these responsibilities have humbled me, knowing that those I lead or represent sometimes have better gifts than me. It humbled me and motivated me to recognize their gifts and involve them. It is very rewarding to share responsibilities with others since I don’t have to do everything on my own.

Being a prefect has been a wonderful opportunity for me to serve other seminarians. It prepared me for ordination as deacon. As a deacon, I will assist the priests at the altar, as well as in service of charity. A deacon is like a bridge between a priest and the congregation. This has been the same for me serving as a prefect. I was the bridge between the formation dean and the seminarians I served.

As I look ahead, I look forward to many things, but I put preaching on the top. As a kid, I liked going to Mass because I was looking forward to hearing the homily. I also look forward to growing in my prayer life, growing in my duties as a servant, growing in my knowledge of the Archdiocese, and getting to know other deacons and priests.

In the past few months, I have been praying and preparing for the ordination on April 26. I have been going through the rite of ordination itself, the promises that I will soon make, and what the Church calls for her deacons. A few years ago, Fr. Tony Cecil gave a reflection on the rite of ordination, and he mentioned that during the Litany of the Saints on his ordination, he prayed about the promises that he made and that he meant it when he promised it. This has been in my regular prayer now, that what I will promise, I will mean it, and I will live it.