The Reverend Father Celestine Benjamen Hettrick, O.S.B., a member of the Saint Anselm monastic community, was ordained to the priesthood by The Most Reverend Robert P. Deeley, Bishop Emeritus of Portland, on Saturday, August 31, 2024, in the Saint Anselm Abbey Church. The culmination of years of monastic formation and seminary studies, Father Celestine now takes his place in the Holy Priesthood of Jesus Christ.
Father Celestine was presented for ordination by The Reverend Augustine G. Kelly, O.S.B., Prior of Saint Anselm Abbey.
During the Rite of Ordination, Bishop Deeley offered words of instruction and encouragement: “My son, you are now to be advanced to the order of the presbyterate. You must apply your energies to the duty of teaching in the name of Christ, the chief Teacher. Share with all mankind the word of God you have received with joy. Meditate on the law of God, believe what you read, teach what you believe, and put into practice what you teach.”
Following the Litany of the Saints, the Laying on of Hands, and the Prayer of Ordination, Father Maurice Larochelle, the pastor of Ste. Marie Parish, invested Father Celestine with the priestly stole and chasuble.
On Sunday, September 1, 2024, Father Celestine celebrated his first Mass of Thanksgiving in the Saint Anselm Abbey Church. Father Aloysius Sarasin, O.S.B., served as the homilist.
Father Celestine is a native of Salem, New Hampshire. He professed vows as a Benedictine monk in 2020 and completed his seminary studies at Saint John’s Seminary. He also attended Holy Family Academy in Manchester, New Hampshire, and the International Theological Institute in Trumau, Austria. He currently serves Saint Anselm College as Assistant Curator of the Alva de Mars Megan Chapel Art Center.
Ordination Livestream
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