Seminarian Lives Back-to-Back Life-Changing Events

In every life journey, there’s one special moment you reach that makes every obstacle you have faced worth every minute. It’s that moment before the final step that assures you–you will make it, you have already made it so far.

For newly ordained Deacon Alex Colautti, a fourth-year graduate seminarian at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, this very moment took place on two back-to-back occasions.

September 14, 2017, at St. Scholastica Parish in Detroit, Deacon Alex made his permanent commitment to the Companions of the Cross. During the Mass of Permanent Commitment, Deacon Alex promised himself wholeheartedly to the Companions of the Cross for the rest of his life. He pledged to live his life as a faithful brother and member of the community.

The very next day, his diaconate ordination occurred by the laying of hands and invocation of the Holy Spirit by the Most Reverend Arturo Cepeda, auxiliary bishop of Detroit. During the ceremony, Deacon Alex accepted the liturgical vestments of alb (white robe), dalmatic (ornamental over-vestment), and stole (scarf), while publicly making a vow to a life of celibacy.

“It was the most joyful experience of my life to date,” said Deacon Alex. “I just felt so overwhelmed by this stage that I’ve been thinking about and praying about and working towards for so long.”

After Deacon Alex made his promise, he then traded his Companions of the Cross medallion, which bears a white cross, for one with a red cross. The red cross depicts a lifetime commitment to the religious community. “The medallion is a man holding a cross,” Deacon Alex explained. “One of our unofficial mottos is ‘accipimus crucem,’ which means ‘let us embrace the cross.’ That’s part of our call, our spirituality as Companions of the Cross.”

The Ontario-based Companions of the Cross was founded in 1985 by Rev. Robert Bedard, CC. They were established to be a community of priests committed to living and ministering together as brothers in the Lord. They place particular emphasis on building the spirituality of their community and living a life of simplicity. The Companions of the Cross now have six priests and eighteen seminarians living and ministering in Detroit.

“I’ve chosen to bind myself and my destiny in a certain sense, to this religious community; this group of men that I feel God has called me to, that God has called together,” said Deacon Alex.

Ordination to the diaconate is one of the final steps for a seminarian on his journey toward the priesthood. Deacon Alex is expected to be ordained to the priesthood next year. He will continue his studies at Sacred Heart Major Seminary.  “I’m rediscovering what it means to be a missionary Church here in Detroit and that’s something I’ll be able to take with me for the rest of my priesthood.”