Prayers Carry Seminarian to Ordination

On May 5, Fr. Alex Colautti, CC, was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, the archbishop of Ottawa, capping a journey that Fr. Alex began ten years ago after a life-changing trip to Medjugorje. The ordination took place at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Ottawa, ON.

“My call to the priesthood has largely been shaped by encounters with the people of God and the way that, while I served them, they in fact ministered to me,” Fr. Alex said. “I’ve really been inspired by Pope Francis and his call to get up from behind our desks, to get out of our churches and to hit the streets so that we can be living witnesses to people out in the world.”

Fr. Alex, who hails from Windsor, ON, joined the Companions of the Cross in 2011. After a year of spiritual formation in Ontario, he entered Sacred Heart Major Seminary, where he received his academic formation in preparation for the priesthood. Following his ordination, Fr. Alex recounted a key factor that kept him going through his seminary years was the prayers of innumerable people.

“I didn’t get to where I am without prayer warriors storming the heavens for me, and I’m certainly not going to get anywhere without their continued support,” Fr. Alex said.

Andrew Colautti, Fr. Alex’s younger brother, said he was proud of his brother’s decision to pursue the priesthood and that he knew Fr. Alex would do great things for the Kingdom as a priest. “He's a Colautti, Colauttis don’t give up, and it is that drive that will fuel his priesthood and his zeal for service and ministry.”

As a member of the Companions of the Cross, Fr. Alex will be living according to the principal tenet of the religious community, namely that of living with other Companions of the Cross priests and ministering alongside them. Fr. Alex cited the brotherhood in the Companions of the Cross as an integral part of his seminarian formation journey, believing he is a better man because of the men he has lived with, who supported, challenged, and encouraged him to seek after holiness and to aspire to become the man that God made him to be.

Fr. Pierre Ingram, director of formation for the Companions of the Cross, affirmed Fr. Alex’s growth in virtue and praised his pastoral heart and skills. Fr. Pierre noted, “There is no one in need that Fr.Alex would ever hesitate to serve, nor would I ever think twice about sending someone who needed spiritual help and guidance to Fr. Alex.”

Fr. Alex has been assigned as the associate pastor of Saint Benedict Parish in Halifax, Nova Scotia, beginning July 1. “I know I’m just human and I’m full of all kinds of weaknesses, so it’s going to take God’s power at work in and through me for me to do anything that’s worth anything at all," said Fr. Alex. "Yet like St. Paul did, I too rejoice in my weaknesses, for it is through them that God’s power is made manifest in me.”

Photos by Andrew Van Beek, courtesy of the Companions of the Cross.