Dave was ordained by the bishop as Deacon David Rospert at Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral in September of 2013.
The diaconate program through the Toledo diocese covers a wide range of coursework
over a five-year period. There are regular monthly sessions and a period requiring weekend sessions at The Pines Retreat Center in Fremont. There’s quite a bit of homework in between. There also are 35 hours of post-ordination formation required.
Dave’s last year of study included a lot of practice for the ministry . That meant working on homilies, Mass parts, and learning procedures to perform baptisms, marriages and funerals.
Dave was the second St. Paul parishioner to be ordained a deacon, following Jim Reichert.