By Joanna Puddister King
JACKSON – Many celebrate their birthdays with big events, but for Deacon Tristan Stovall, his birthday this year brings about an extra special event – his ordination to the priesthood.
On May 18 at 10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson, Bishop Joseph Kopacz is set to ordain transitional Deacon Tristan Stovall to the priesthood. All are invited to attend, with a reception following.
In a recent video with Bishop Kopacz, Stovall fondly remembered the first meeting of the two in 2016 waiting in a hospital to visit a patient.
“Father Frank [Cosgrove] walks down the hall with the bishop and I’m nervous you know … I’m about to meet the bishop,” mused Stovall.
After introductions, the first question Father Cosgrove asked Stovall in front of Bishop Kopacz, was “Have you considered being a priest?”
At the time, Stovall insisted that he did not want to be a priest and wanted to be married someday.
But that initial question got Stovall thinking and he was drawn even deeper into the Catholic faith.
Stovall’s path to the priesthood began in the red clay hills of Neshoba County, where he first encountered Catholicism, being fascinated with the funeral of Pope St. John Paul II as a young boy. At the age of 15, his interest and thirst for knowledge of the Catholic faith grew when he attended Mass for the very first time at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. After that experience the young Baptist knew then that he “had to become Catholic.” This journey ultimately led him to convert to Catholicism in 2014, where he was received into full communion with the church.
After ordination, Stovall will celebrate his first Mass as a priest at his home parish of Holy Cross in Philadelphia on Pentecost – Sunday, May 19 at 10:30 a.m.
Stovall says, “Please pray for me and I prepare for ordination and continued service to the People of God.”
(If you are interested in vocations, visit jacksondiocese.org/vocations; ask your local priest; or contact vocations director Father Nick Adam at nickadam@jacksondiocese.org.)
