NOTRE DAME, Ind. — With joy and thanksgiving, the Congregation of Holy Cross will celebrate the Perpetual Profession of Vows of five men Aug. 31. Two of them spent part of a summer during formation in the Diocese of Phoenix.
Br. Joe DeAgostino, C.S.C., served as a camp counselor/parish summer intern at St. John Vianney in Goodyear in 2015 and began his role as a pastoral associate at André House last month. Vincent Nguyen, who will also profess solemn vows, served at André House last summer and will spend the current academic year serving at an Indiana parish.
Holy Cross Father William M. Lies, provincial superior of the Congregation of Holy Cross, U.S. Province of Priests and Brothers, will preside at Mass and receive their vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience according to the Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross. The Final Vows Mass will be broadcast live from the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Ind at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Br. Joe is the second of six children of Thomas and Laura DeAgostino of Lawrence, Kan. He graduated with a B.A. in Medieval Studies from the University of Notre Dame in 2013, where he also earned his M.Div. in 2016. Joe entered the Congregation of Holy Cross in August 2009 as an Old Collegian. He made his First Profession of Vows on Aug. 2, 2014.
His formation took him across the county as a catechist, spiritual advisor for a Vincentian conference, hospital chaplain, camp counselor, pastoral resident, intern and an assistant learning coordinator at an Indiana high school.
Br. Joe’s perpetual profession marks the end of his initial formation as a Holy Cross brother. As one of five temporarily professed brothers in the United States Province, Br. Joe is overjoyed to be offering this commitment to God and to the Church. “Reading and reflecting on the Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross, I routinely find myself incredibly grateful for the blessing of each and every ‘yes’ I have made throughout life, not only in the profession of vows but in the daily commitments and ministries that I have done throughout my time in Holy Cross,” he said.
The other four men professing final vows will be ordained a transitional deacon Sept. 1. They have one additional year of formation prior to ordination as a Holy Cross priest.
