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On the morning of May 6, Mount Angel Seminary graduates, monks, faculty, family and friends gathered in the Abbey church for the celebration of the 2023 Baccalaureate Mass and Commencement Exercises. A full church for each celebration signified an outpouring of support for the graduates and gratitude to God for the successful completion of another academic year.

Bishop Liam Cary of the Diocese of Baker, who also served as the principal celebrant for the Baccalaureate Mass, gave the commencement address. In his remarks, which focused on God’s creation of the universe and human beings, he reflected that “to be human is to know that life is a gift, and the deeper that perception enters into our being, the more human we are.”

During the Senior Farewell address, Deacon Marc Gandolfo of the Diocese of San Diego reflected on the centrality of the Eucharist in his experience of seminary formation. He shared that “in the same way that in the Mass, the gifts are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ, so we have been forever changed by our time spent here at Mount Angel.”

The following seminarians received their Bachelor of Arts degrees from Mount Angel Seminary’s College of Liberal Arts: Marcos Ricardo Alvarado Trasmonte, Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon; Alejandro Marquez Mendoza, Diocese of Sacramento; Jorge E. Noricumbo, Diocese of Fresno; Ethen Vincent O’Campo, Diocese of Orange; Edgar Allen Domingo Pobre, Diocese of Honolulu; Joshua Adam Tennyson, Diocese of Boise; Frederick J. Tucker, Archdiocese of Seattle; and Br. Ricardo Velez, M.Sp.S., Missionaries of the Holy Spirit.

Sean-Matthew Roberto Flores, Diocese of Las Vegas, and Adalberto Montes Contreras, Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, each received their Pre-Theology Certificate of Completion.

The following seminarians received their Master of Arts (Philosophy): Victor Fernando Amador, Diocese of Sacramento; Joseph Ryan Canepa, Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon; Robert Joe Martinez, Diocese of Las Vegas; and Jacob Juan Valdez, Diocese of Fresno.

The Seminary’s Graduate School of Theology conferred the Master of Divinity degree upon Deacon Sylvester Musonda Chanda, Archdiocese of Seattle; Deacon Nelson Hall Besouro Cintra, Diocese of Boise; Deacon Arturo Cisneros, Diocese of Fresno; Deacon Caleb Joshua Cunningham, Diocese of Baker; Deacon Marc Andrew Gandolfo, Diocese of San Diego; Deacon Ian Michael Gaston, Diocese of Orange; Br. Charles Borromeo Gonzalez, O.S.B., Mount Angel Abbey; Deacon Anthony Hoangphan, Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon; Deacon Efraín Razo, Jr., Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon; Deacon Timothy Josef Segert, Diocese of Boise; and Deacon James Joseph Tasy, Diocese of Fresno.

Recipients of the Master of Arts (Theology) included Deacon Nelson Hall Besouro Cintra, Diocese of Boise; Br. Scott P. Dilworth, O.C.S.O., Our Lady of Guadalupe Trappist Abbey; Daniel Edward Licon; and Maximiliano Muñoz, Archdiocese of Seattle.

The following seminarians received their Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology: Deacon Nelson Hall Besouro Cintra, Diocese of Boise; Deacon Caleb Joshua Cunningham, Diocese of Baker; Deacon Ian Michael Gaston, Diocese of Orange; Deacon Timothy Josef Segert, Diocese of Boise; and Deacon James Joseph Tasy, Diocese of Fresno.

Bishop Kolio Tumanuvao Etuale, bishop of the Diocese of Samoa-Pago Pago, received his Doctor of Ministry degree.

– Ethan Alano