ARE YOU BEING CALLED?

“The call to holiness is a universal call, valid for all human beings without distraction of age, profession, race or language.  Just as all are redeemed, so all are called.  The vocation to holiness means putting into practice, in one’s own daily life, the example and teaching of Jesus Christ”.

~ St. John Paul II

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THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER

 

With 82 parishes, the Catholic Diocese of Fall River covers 1,194 square miles in Southeastern Massachusetts, including Bristol County, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and the towns of Mattapoisett, Marion and Wareham in Plymouth County. Within the area the Catholic population numbers over 350,000 persons.

Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., D.D. is the Eighth Bishop of the Fall River Diocese.  The Catholic Population of the diocese is roughly 325,000 people, or roughly about 40% of the general population.

There are approximately 100 Diocesan Priests serving in 82 parishes throughout the Diocese. Our Priests also work in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, missions and other diocesan offices and special ministries.

MEET OUR SEMINARIANS

DEACON WILLIAM O’DONNELL, III

(Click for Deacon Bill's Bio)
IV Theology
St. John’s Seminary, Brighton, MA
Holy Trinity Parish, West HarwicH

greg quenneville

DEACON GREGORY QUENNEVILLE

(Click for Deacon Greg's Bio)
IV Theology
St. John’s Seminary, Brighton, MA
St. Theresa Parish, South Attleboro

matthew laird

DEACON MATTHEW FRANCIS LAIRD

(Click for Deacon Matt's Bio)
IV THEOLOGY
St. John’s Seminary, Brighton, MA
Christ the King Parish, Mashpee

DEACON LAURENT MICHAEL VALLIERE

(Click for Deacon Valliere's Bio)
IV Theology
St. John’s Seminary, Brighton, MA
ST. STANISLAUS PARISH, FALL RIVER

JOHN GARABEDIAN

(Click for John's Bio)
iiI Theology
iMMACULATE CONCEPTION SEMINARY, SOUTH ORANGE, NJ
ST. mARY’S pARISH, mANSFIELD

BRIAN CONNORS

(Click for Brian's Bio)
III Theology
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION SEMINARY, SOUTH ORANGE, NJ
HOLY FAMILY PARISH, EAST TAUNTON

CHRISTOPHER HUGHES

(Click for Chris' Bio)
III Theology
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION SEMINARY, SOUTH ORANGE, NJ
Christ the King Parish, Mashpee

THIAGO MENEZES SANTOS

(Click for Thiago's Bio)
III Theology
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION SEMINARY, SOUTH ORANGE, NJ
ARACAJU, BRAZIL

BRYAN BANGS

(Click for Bryan's Bio)
II Theology
CORPUS CHRISTI, E. SANDWICH
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION SEMINARY, SOUTH ORANGE, NJ

LUCAS DACOSTA

(Click for Lucas' Bio)
ST. JOHN’S SEMINARY, BRIGHTON, MAI THEOLOGY
ST. FRANCIS XAVIER PARISH, ACUSHNET

SHAYNE DIAS

(Click for Shayne's Bio)
COLLEGE SENIOR
SANTO CHRISTO PARISH, FALL RIVER
OUR LADY OF PROVIDENCE SEMINARY

Deacon Bill O’Donnell is a 41 year-old male from Harwich, MA and is the son of William and Patty O’Donnell. His home parish is Holy Trinity Church in West Harwich. Deacon Bill is from a family with a younger brother and a younger sister. His parents had run a restaurant (A&W) on the Cape for a number of years until after his father died in 2015. Deacon Bill was raised in the Catholic faith and while in high school at Harwich High School his faith grew much stronger after a powerful experience on an ECHO retreat. He had been involved with the ECHO retreats on the Cape ever since. He would graduate from Stonehill College with a BA in Marketing.

Over the years he had grown in his faith through prayer, the sacraments, and especially through the Mass. Over the years friends and priests have encouraged Deacon Bill to consider the priesthood and to listen to the Lord if he is calling. After a journey of sensing the calling, wavering back and forth about when to enter the seminary, then having care for the family business after his father’s death, he then took the leap of pursuing the priesthood and entered St. John’s Seminary in Brighton. Deacon Bill is serving at Holy Family Church in East Taunton and entering fourth theology at St. John’s Seminary.

Deacon Greg is a 36 year old male who grew up in South Attleboro and is a parishioner of St. Theresa’s Church in South Attleboro. He has an older sister and younger sister. He is a man of deep faith and love for the priesthood. His parents are Donald and Elizabeth Quenneville. His family is very close and supportive. Greg graduated from Attleboro High School in 2003 and received his associates degree from Massasoit Community College, his Bachelor of Science in Psychology from University of Massachusetts in 2007 and his Masters in Social Work from Rhode Island College in 2012. Deacon Greg was a psychologist working in Brockton for the Veterans Association.

After college is when his Catholic faith became much greater. His sense of a calling to the priesthood intensified beginning in Lent of 2014, especially through his experience of attending daily Mass. Also in his profession of counseling people, he has discovered the joy of working and guiding many different personalities and in different age groups and is very comfortable with the thought of carrying this out as a priest. Many have supported him seeking to enter the seminary and becoming a priest. Greg has a strong certitude that the Lord is calling him and embraced the call and entered St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, MA. He is serving at St. Mary’s Church in South Dartmouth, MA and he is entering fourth theology at St. John’s Seminary.

Deacon Matt is 28 years old and is the son of David and Kathleen Laird. The Laird’s live in Sandwich. Deacon Matt has two younger sisters and his family are parishioners at Christ the King Parish in Mashpee (where his mother works for the parish). His parents sought to foster the living of the faith with their children and that has been a major part of Deacon Matt’s spiritual growth. Deacon Matt Laird went to St. Francis Xavier Prep in Hyannis and then graduated in 2011 from Pope John Paul II High School in Hyannis (these schools also had a big impact on his growing in the knowledge and living of his faith). He was in the first graduating class of Pope St. John Paul II. Also, during that time, he went with others from his parish on a mission trip to Honduras and to see the joy, gratitude, and faith of the people there had a great impact on him and stirring the sense of a calling. He went to college where he got his degree in Biology from College of the Holy Cross in 2015.

 

During his college years Deacon Matt was able to work an internship at St. John the Evangelist Church in Pocasset which helped strengthen his sense that the Lord was calling as a priest. He entered St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, MA where the formation has helped him grow. Due to some underlying health issues, Deacon Matt took a year away from the seminary to serve at Holy Family Church in East Taunton which was a great blessing for him and the parishioners there. Like Deacon Larry Valliere, Deacon Matt has a gift for playing musical instruments and he is part of a jazz band with Deacon Larry and two priests which they call Vatican III. This summer and weekends throughout the year Deacon Matt serves at Our Lady of Grace Church and St. John the Baptist Church in Fall River. He is entering fourth theology at St. John’s Seminary.

Deacon Larry is 39 years old and originally from West Warwick, Rhode Island. He is a parishioner of St. Stanislaus Parish in Fall River. Deacon Larry is the only child of Laurent and Maureen Valliere. He grew up having his parents foster his faith, but in his teens years he discovered his heart was focused more on music and playing instruments. Deacon Larry graduated from Tollgate High School in Warwick, RI in 1999 and graduated from Fairfield University in 2003 with a BA in Religious Studies. Like many young people in his college years he got away from the living of his faith that was fostered in his younger years, but when he was hired to teach at Bishop Stang High School, his faith was rekindled. In that period of teaching at Stang his awareness of the need for grace and love for the Lord deepened. Over the years he had that growing sense that the Lord was calling him to be a priest. He entered St. John’s Seminary and after a few years he took some time away from the seminary as the clarity of the calling to the priesthood was not there and he returned to teaching high school, which Larry has a gift for. After teaching for a few years he still had that sense the Lord was still calling and by God’s grace the strengthening of the call came and he returned to studying for the priesthood. He still fosters his talent for music and along with Matt Laird as they are part of the (soon to be complete) clergy jazz band Vatican III where Deacon Larry plays the bass guitar. Deacon Larry served this summer at St. Francis Xavier Church in Acushnet and this year will serve weekends at Holy Name Church in Fall River. He is entering fourth theology at St. John’s Seminary.

John Garabedian was born in 1991, the son of John and Claire Garabedian, and he grew up in a close loving family in Mansfield, MA. He has an older sister and younger sister. His home parish is St. Mary’s Parish in Mansfield. Though the family always lived the faith, his faith grew late in high school and college, especially when his family had visited the Vatican and other famous Christian sites in Rome. During college and after John went deeper in knowing and living his faith, especially growing in his living of the sacramental life (regular Confession, daily Mass, and Eucharistic Adoration). John played baseball for Bridgewater State University which also taught him teamwork, perseverance, and leadership. As he grew closer to the Lord so did the sense of being called by the Lord to be a priest. John is entering third theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange, NJ. Some of his parish assignments have been serving at St. Ann’s Parish in Raynham, St. Anthony Parish in Falmouth, Our Lady of Grace in Westport, and Holy Name in Fall River.

Brian Patrick Connors, son Michael and Janice Connors, is a a parishioner of Holy Family Church in East Taunton. He has two brothers. In his 20’s Brian underwent a conversion and in 2015 received the sacraments of initiation. Continuing with his growth in the faith he became very involved in the parish by teaching the faith to children and helping at the parish on a regular basis. He also has attended different retreats and helped as well in giving witness to the faith to others. The sense of being called to the priesthood has gown within Brian and became clearer and stronger over the years. Brian has a love for the Church and desire to serve others. Over the summers Brian has served at Our Lady of Grace Parish in Westport and St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral in Fall River. Brian is entering third theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange, New Jersey.

Christopher Daniel Hughes, son of Daniel and Joanna Hughes, is from Sandwich and is a parishioner of Christ the King Parish in Mashpee. He has one younger brother and one younger sister. His parents are supportive of his pursuing a possible vocation to the priesthood. Growing up he was very involved in the church life (altar server; lector; extraordinary minster; sacristan; taught in faith formation; on the parish council; and was involved in youth ministry). He was also involved in diocesan retreat programs on the Cape. For many years he has given thought and prayer to that the Lord may be calling him to the priesthood. He was also involved in his high school years at Pope John Paul II High School in Hyannis. Over the summers he has served at St. John Neumann Parish in East Freetown, Christ the King Parish in Mashpee, and St. Francis Xavier Parish in Acushnet. Chris is entering third theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange, New Jersey.

Thiago Menezes Santos was born in 1996 in Aracaju, Brazil. His family lives Aracaju. His father is Sergio Santana Santos and his mother is Laura Teles Menezes Santos. He has an older sister. Thiago comes a from a very religious family. His parents and his sister have been supportive of his possible priestly vocation. As a child he joined the children’s choir at his parish and was a member of it for six years (he sees that played a large role in his growing in his faith). After his first communion in 2006, he joined The Missionary Childhood, a group that helped him to learn how to evangelize other children and by doing this it all the more awaken within him to possibility of a divine calling. He started to have the desire to be a missionary and it was then that he first felt the desire to be a priest and to give all his life to Jesus and his Holy Church. Before he entered the seminary Thiago was a catechist for two years and also served as an altar server. He also served in the childhood missionary and was a member of the parish youth group. In 2015 he was approved to study philosophy at Our Lady of Conception Major Seminary in Aracaju, where he studied philosophy for three years.

In 2018 he started his theological studies in that same seminary, and everything was very well. It was during that year that he spoke with Bishop daCunha by which he sensed by the invitation from Bishop daCunha to possibly serving as a priest in the United States, in particular in the Diocese of Fall River. He saw this as a call from God to go into deeper waters.  After much prayer and speaking with his spiritual director, his Rector, his Archbishop, and his parents, he decided to say yes to the Lord, and is seeking to serve him in the Diocese of Fall River.

He attends the Mass daily, he makes time during the week to be with the Lord in the chapel, prays Lectio Divina, and every day prays the Rosary. He has always shown great zeal for the life of prayer, for the Holy Eucharist and other Sacraments. Thiago has served at St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral in Fall River and St. Jude Parish, St. Anthony Parish, and St Mary’s Church in Taunton this summer. Thiago is entering third theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange, NJ.

Bryan Bangs was born in 1997 and is the son of Robert and Joanne Bangs. He grew in a strong practicing Catholic home. He has two younger brothers and a younger sister Anna. Bryan is a very active member of Corpus Christi Church in East Sandwich, MA and has been greatly supported by others. Bryan attends Mass regularly. He was a past recipient of the Pope Pius X Award, taught faith formation at Corpus Christi, and active member of the parish’s youth group, and participated for two years in Quo Vadis Days.

In May 2017, Bryan did briefly enter a religious order, Carmel of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Powell Wyoming, but it was discerned he was not being called to religious life in that order

Over the years different people would encourage him to think about a calling to the priesthood. He began thinking about a possible vocation in his early teenage years, and though at first he was afraid of a possible vocation, gradually the sense of a calling increased and his embracing the possible calling grew, especially with the joyful example and encouragement of his pastor. He is particularly drawn to the beauty of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the idea that as a possible priest being an instrument of mercy for others fills him with joy. His sense of the vocation grew in particular through Eucharistic adoration and personal prayer. He is gifted at playing the piano and the organ. Bryan received bachelor’s degree from Seton Hall University. Bryan has served at Santo Christo Church in Fall River and this summer at St. Thomas More Parish in Somerst, St. Louis deFrance Parish in Swansea, and St. Patrick’s Parish in Somerset. He is entering second theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange, New Jersey.

Lucas Daniel daCosta, son of Daniel and Fatima daCosta, grew up in New Bedford, MA and is a parishioner of St. Francis Xavier Church in Acushnet. He has one older sister. In seventh grade he began to go through a conversion and grew tremendously in his faith. He became very active in his parish and the thought that the Lord may be calling him to the priesthood grew throughout high school. Prayer has been very important to him and he has a love for the Church (especially a love for the Eucharist, Adoration, Confession, and Our Lady). After high school he spent a year in Portugal to work on his ability to speak Portuguese. The last four years he has been at Our Lady of Providence Seminary and studying at Providence College. This summer Lucas served at Santo Christo Parish in Fall River. This fall he is entering first theology at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, MA.

Shayne Victor Dias is 21 years old and lives in Westport. He is the son of Victor and Dina Dias and has an older sister. His father is from Angola and his mother is from Sao Miguel in the Acores. Shayne is fluent in English and Portuguese. His family is very close and the Mass and rosary were an important part of their lives. He is very active Santo Christo Parish in Fall River, and over the years he served at St. Anne’s Church and Good Shepherd Church. He also has helped at a soup kitchen, been a leader in a youth group, and volunteered at a nursing home. Shayne has a love for learning more about the faith. He has thought about the possibility of the vocation to the priesthood for many years and through spiritual direction he came to a greater clarity about the possible calling from the Lord. As he prays about the vocation to the priesthood, he is comforted especially with the thought of providing people with the Eucharist. He also finds strength in helping those marginalized having a better life. What excites him most about the priesthood in bringing the sacraments to the mystical Body of Christ. After graduating from Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River, Shayne studied at Rhode Island College and last year entered Our Lady of Providence Seminary and transferred to Providence College. He is now in his senior year of college seminary.