A celebration of the ordination to the priesthood of Reverend Michael Bovino for service as a priest in the Diocese of Norwich took place June 27, 2020.
The Ritual Mass for the Conferral of Holy Orders took place at the Cathedral of St. Patrick in Norwich, with the Most Reverend Michael R. Cote, D.D., Bishop of Norwich, as the ordaining celebrant.
A gathering of invited congregants, fellow diocesan priests, and deacons were at the cathedral to witness the ordination, which was celebrated under new social distancing rules because of COVID-19. The Mass also was live-streamed.
Abridged Video of Ordination
(37 minutes)
Full Video below
The Rite of Ordination began with the Presentation of the Elect by Reverend Gregory Galvin, the vocations director for the diocese.
Father Galvin proclaimed that the elect was found worthy of priesthood.
“Relying on the help of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, we choose Michael Patrick Bovino, our brother, for the Order of the Priesthood,” Bishop Cote said.
All present stood and applauded to show their consent.
As the litany of supplication was chanted, the elect prostrated himself before the altar as all present, through the intercession of the saints, asked for God’s grace to be upon the new priest.
Bishop Cote then laid his hands upon the head of the elect. It was through this laying on of hands that the sacrament of Holy Orders was conferred. This was followed by the recitation of the prayer of ordination.
Father Bovino then was vested in the stole and chasuble by the Very Reverend Dennis Perkins, pastor of St. Michael Church in Pawcatuck, Connecticut.
Father Bovino imparted his blessing on Bishop Cote and extended his blessing to members of his family.
After the ordination, the new priest gave his blessing to the invited guests, who waited in a line inside the cathedral.
Father Bovino was ordained to the Diaconate in a Mass of Ordination on May 23, 2019 at St. Mary Church, in Stonington Borough.
He was born and raised in Stonington as the oldest of five children. After attending the University of Connecticut for his undergraduate education, where he began to encounter anew the Lord Jesus and the richness of His Catholic Church, he spent two years doing mission work with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) in New Jersey.
In 2014, he entered the seminary for the Diocese of Norwich at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
Unabridged Video of Ordination
1 hour 48 minutes