 |
 |
| Vince Brewer | Garrett Kau |
MADISON — Two new transitional deacons will be ordained for the Diocese of Madison on Friday, May 25, at 7:30 p.m. in the chapel of the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center in Madison.
Bishop Robert C. Morlino will ordain Vince Brewer and Garrett Kau as transitional deacons. God willing, they will be ordained to the priesthood in 2013.
Vince Brewer
Brewer is in his third year of theology studies at Blessed John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Mass.
A native of Richland Center, Brewer served in the Navy for six years during the Iran-Iraq War. After that he attended the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, earning a bachelor’s degree in communications management.
He worked for a radio station in Dubuque, Iowa, and then worked for TDS in Madison.
The call to the priesthood came off and on during his life and emerged again after he finished a year of duty for the U.S. Central Command in Qatar.
He applied to be a seminarian for the Diocese of Madison and in 2008, he started his studies at Blessed John XXIII National Sem- inary, which specializes in “second career” vocations.
Brewer said, “I’m excited to be ordained after years of study, but I am also humble, because this is not something I’m achieving on my own. It takes the prayers and support of the community, the Church, and God.”
Garrett Kau
Kau is in his third year of theology studies at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver, Colo. He grew up in rural Palmyra. Although officially from St. Mary Help of Christians Parish in Sullivan, that parish was linked at one time with St. Mary in Palmyra, so both parishes “claim” him.
Kau obtained a bachelor’s degree in bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He became involved at St. Paul’s University Catholic Center.
He met a number of diocesan seminarians when he attended World Youth Day in Germany in 2005. In 2006, he attended a men’s retreat at the Bishop O’Connor Center in Madison and was impressed by a panel of priests who spoke about their vocations.
That spring he applied to be a seminarian for the Diocese of Madison. He began his studies in the fall of 2006 at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary.
He looks forward to ordination. “After over six years of preparation it’s great to have the diaconate finally on the horizon. At the end of the day, it is Jesus calling me. I’ve been doing my best to say ‘yes’ — now I need the grace to do what God has called me to do.”