Bishop Emeritus Norbert Dorsey was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, grew up close to a Passionist monastery and would attend retreats there as a child. He attended Holy Cross Seminary in Dunkirk, New York and pronounced his vows as a Passionist on August 15, 1949. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Cuthbert O’Gara, CP, on April 28, 1956, at St. Michael’s Monastery in Union City, New Jersey.

After studying in Europe and preaching at parish missions and retreats throughout the United States and Canada, Father Dorsey served in Rome as Assistant General of the Passionists worldwide from 1976 until 1982.

In 1986 Pope John Paul II named Father Dorsey Titular Bishop of Mactaris and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami. He was consecrated a bishop by Archbishop Edward J. McCarthy at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Miami on March 19, 1986.

When asked about his vocation to become a priest, Bishop Dorsey said, “I would say it is one that you give or answer to with your whole heart, because what you are doing is trying to share the Lord’s teachings not only for yourself and for your friends but those you meet later… my life as a priest in different parishes and in different states has been extremely fulfilling.”

Bishop Dorsey was installed as the third bishop of Orlando on May 25, 1990 at the Orlando Arena before 12,000 of Christ’s faithful. During his episcopacy, he established the parishes of Holy Cross, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Rose of Lima, and St. John the Evangelist the mission of St. Leo the Great in Lake Wales, while overseeing numerous construction, expansion, and renovation projects. He also established a cemetery at San Pedro Retreat Center for priests of the diocese.

Reverend Monsignor Patrick Joseph Caverly
As the founding pastor of Annunciation Catholic Church in Altamonte Springs, Monsignor Patrick Joseph Caverly not only built the church, school and adjacent buildings, he created the Annunciation Fall Festival that generates approximately $100,000 per year—all of which is given away to local missions and charities. For his fundraising efforts through Annunciation since 1982, Catholic Charities recently honored Monsignor Caverly with the 2010 Hope and Opportunity Award.

Monsignor Caverly was ordained at the Cathedral of the Assumption in County Carlow, Ireland by Bishop Keogh on June 10, 1961, and he immediately followed in the footsteps of two uncles and two great-uncles who were priests sent to Florida. He oversaw the construction of St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Maitland where he was pastor from 1972 – 1981, before taking on his “longest assignment” at Annunciation.

“I think we have created an atmosphere where spirituality is a high priority,” said Monsignor Caverly. “We’ve had a number of men from the parish who’ve gone on to seminary and a number of women who have joined the convents.”

In 1991 Monsignor Caverly was named Vicar General, and in 2008, Pope Benedict XVI named Monsignor Caverly a Protonotary Apostolate Supernumerary, (P.A.), the highest ranking nonepiscopal prelate at the diocesan level.

Reverend Seraphin Conley, T.O.R.
“Join the Franciscans and see the world”—that is how Father Seraphin Conley describes the past 50 years. A native of Boston, MA, he made his first profession as a Friar of the Third Order of St. Francis in 1953 and was ordained by Archbishop Phillip Hannan at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC on June 3, 1961.

Before Vatican II most Franciscans took the name of saints or clergy members, and Father Conley chose the name of the priest who heard his confessions at the Franciscan Shrine of St. Anthony in Boston. “He was very encouraging, very kind and he had a great manner,” said Father Conley. “I never met him outside of confession—I have no idea what he looked like.”

As a Franciscan priest, Father Conley had assignments throughout the U.S. He spent six years at the TOR Mission in Paraguay and six years in Rome as a General Councilor. In 2003 he settled into semi-retirement at the Villa Madonna Friary in New Smyrna Beach and assists with Mass at Our Lady Star of the Sea.

Reverend Carl Feil, O.S.M.
A native of Chicago, IL, Father Carl Feil was ordained on June 29, 1961 at the San Marcello al Corso church in Rome and celebrated his first Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. Although he returned to the Archdiocese of Chicago for the first four years of his priesthood, his assignments would take him to South Africa, Swaziland and New Mexico before he arrived in the Diocese of Orlando.

Father Feil belongs to the Order of Servants of Mary, and in 1965 he went to a Zulu mission in South Africa. Because he ministered to the Zulu people during the era of apartheid, the South African government would not renew his residency permit. “I really enjoyed my time in Africa,” said Father Feil. “I really enjoyed being with the Zulu and Swazi people because they were so congenial and upbeat in spite of their poverty and their oppressive situation at the time.”

After working with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and 15 years of ministry in New Mexico, Father Feil settled in the Diocese of Orlando 10 years ago. He resides at Our Lady of Lourdes in Melbourne and is Sacramental Chaplain at Apostleship of the Sea, ministering to Catholics who work on the cruise ships at Port Canaveral.

Reverend Monsignor F. Joseph Harte
The Diocese of Orlando’s Tourism Ministry and the Mary Queen of the Universe Shrine were both built by Monsignor F. Joseph Harte, who began his ministry in the Diocese of Yakima, Washington after his ordination in the chapel of All Hallows Seminary in Dublin, Ireland on June 18, 1961.

Although Monsignor Harte was interested in pastoral ministry, he spent many years in Catholic education. “When I got (to Yakima) the Bishop said, ‘You’re just the man I was looking for—I need teachers,’” said Monsignor Harte. After he transferred to the Diocese of Orlando in 1970, he also taught classes at Bishop Moore Catholic High School in Orlando and Father Lopez Catholic High School in Daytona.

With the growth of Orlando tourism, there was a need to minister to visiting Catholics. As pastor of Holy Family Parish and first director of the Tourism Ministry, Monsignor Harte held his first Mass at the Royal Plaza Lake Buena Vista hotel in March 1975 with 200 people in attendance. “The numbers grew and grew until we really had more people than the hotel could accommodate,” he said.

In 1984 the Diocese broke ground on the first phase of construction for the National Shrine of Mary Queen of the Universe, which was dedicated in 1993 and granted the title of Minor Basilica in 2009. “It was one of my happiest moments,” said Monsignor Harte. “The Shrine is really the work of the Mother of God.”

Now in retirement, Monsignor Harte has finished writing a book entitled, They Shall Bear You Up, which details his experiences as a child in wartime Ireland and throughout his 50 years of priesthood.

Reverend Louis P. Luljak
Father Louis Luljak was born and raised in South Milwaukee, WI, and entered St. Francis de Sales Seminary near Milwaukee in 1950 at the age of 14. He was ordained on May 27, 1961 at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee by Archbishop William W. Cousins. “Both of my parents were very devout people so I learned Catholicism at the knee of my mother growing up, and my father was a trustee of our Slovak parish for 15 to 20 years,” said Father Luljak.

Early in his priesthood Father Luljak considered becoming an army chaplain, but Archbishop Cousins required newly ordained priests to wait at least six years before taking on a military ministry. In 1967, the Archbishop granted Father Luljak’s request to become an army chaplain. Father Luljak was on active duty until 1975 and was stationed in Vietnam, Korea, Germany and several stateside bases. In 1977 Father Luljak returned to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee but stayed in the army reserves for another 15 years and retired with the rank of a colonel.

Father Luljak continued his pastoral ministry at various parishes until his retirement in 2002. Although Father Luljak is still incardinated in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, he is currently a Florida resident and spends eight months out of the year in the Diocese of Orlando assisting priests at St. Ann Catholic Church in DeBary, St. Peter Catholic Church in DeLand, St. Clare Catholic Church in Deltona, and Our Lady of the Lakes in Deltona, where he is in residence.

Reverend John Edward McMullan
Born and raised in war-torn Belfast, Northern Ireland, as a youth Father John McMullan often thought about joining the army. After entering Mount Melleray Seminary near Cappoquin, County Waterford and his ordination in the chapel of All Hallows Seminary in Dublin, Ireland on June 18, 1961, Father McMullan took his first assignment with the Archdiocese of Seattle, Washington before spending much of the Vietnam War era in the National Guard and ministering to troops in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

“I did parachute training and that’s a great help to your prayer life—every time you jump you say your prayers,” said Father McMullan, who added that he took the optional parachute training to earn the respect of the soldiers. “It’s a ministry of presence; you’re on patrols and everything else.”

Father McMullan remembered moments when the DMZ would be on full war alert, and even the non-Catholics would come running to him for confession. “Don’t ever be afraid to go to confession—it’s a great gift from the Lord,” he said. Eventually Father McMullan returned to Seattle and by the time he retired he was running five different parishes. He came to the Diocese of Orlando nearly 10 years ago to assist fellow seminary classmate Monsignor Joseph Harte with the tourism ministry at the National Shrine of Mary Queen of the Universe.

Currently Father McMullan assists at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Celebration, and still ministers to tourists at the Shrine. “It’s really great to see people on vacation who want to come and worship,” said Father McMullan.

Reverend John Walsh
After 50 years of the priesthood, Father John Walsh lives by the words of St. Augustine, “Lord, teach me to know me that I might know you.” Father Walsh was born and raised in Scranton, PA; attended seminary at the St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, MD and was ordained on May 27, 1961 by Bishop Jerome Hannon at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Scranton.

For the first two decades of his ministry, most of Father Walsh’s appointments involved teaching and pastoral work in his native Pennsylvania. In 1986 he went to Clearwater to minister to other priests, sisters and brothers at the House of Affirmation and remained there until that ministry ended in 1989. “They were experiencing a lot of healing—it was a great ministry,” said Father Walsh. “I’ve always been very interested in teaching and counseling as well as parish work—and the three of them fit me very well.”

Father Walsh has been with the Diocese of Orlando since 1989, and he has spent most of his time at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Orlando, where he has been Parochial Vicar for nearly 20 years. Reflecting on his priesthood, Father Walsh said, “I look upon it as an ongoing experience that demanded me to be more than I am at given periods in my life, and I think that’s part of our growth as Christians.”

Reverend Gianni Agostinelli, C.S.
As a member of the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles—the Scalabrinians—Father Gianni Agostinelli has dedicated his priestly ministry to working with impoverished immigrants.

“The people I work with—the migrants—are my greatest reward,” said Father Gianni. “We become family, we become friends—I wish I had double the hours in the day just to do more.” Father Gianni entered the Scalabrini seminary school at the age of 10 in Bassano del Grappa in the Italian province of Vicenza. He was ordained on September 20, 1986 by Bishop Loris Capovilla at the Parrocchia di San Giuseppe.

A year after his ordination, Father Gianni came to the United States to serve the Hispanic community in New York City. After several years at a parish in Brooklyn, Father Gianni came to the Diocese of Orlando in 1995 to serve Hispanic immigrants working in agriculture and construction jobs. He built up the San Pedro de Jesus Maldonado Mission in Wildwood, where he is the parochial administrator. He also assists the Hispanic community at St. Paul Catholic Church in Leesburg and St. Patrick Catholic Church in Mt. Dora.

Reverend Joseph Vigny Bellerive
When asked about saints who inspire him, Father Joseph Bellerive listed St. John Vianney, St. Francis of Assisi and “all of those humble souls who have given up many possessions and accepted to be governed by their faith.” Now the parish priest of St. Andrew Catholic Church and a diocesan ecclesiastical tribunal judge, Father Bellerive was preparing to be a doctor before he entered the Grand Séminaire de Montréal and was ordained to the priesthood on June 21, 1986.

Father Bellerive was raised in Paris, France; he lived in several other countries, and studied music at the “Conservatoire de Paris” before graduating from medical school. Soon afterwards Father Bellerive accepted an offer to go to the missions in Latin America, where he decided to become a priest instead of pursuing a medical career.

For those who might be considering religious life, Father Bellerive invites them to “come and see” the happiness that the priesthood has given him. “You are a priest not for yourself but for the Lord, his Church and his people,” he said. “Everything coming from the Gospel is beautiful and consoling and appealing.”

Reverend Francis John Cerio
Currently a Parochial Vicar at Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic Church in Deltona, Father Francis John Cerio—better known as Father Frank—had considered the priesthood since he was a third grader attending St. Paul’s Catholic School in Daytona. “Giving people the Body of Christ just looked so beautiful to me as a kid, and that was what first attracted me,” he said.

By the time Father Cerio graduated from Stetson University in 1981, he had already discerned his vocation and entered Saint Meinrad Seminary in southern Indiana at the age of 22. He was ordained on May 31, 1986 by Bishop Thomas Grady at St. James Cathedral in Orlando.

Over the years, Father Cerio has served the Diocese of Orlando at various missions and parishes, including his first assignment at Our Lady of Lourdes, Melbourne and serving as pastor of Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Lake Wales. For Father Cerio, the priesthood is, “a decision that you make to be there every day for God and His people.”

Reverend Barthelemy Garcon, S.M.M.
Born and raised in Gros-Morne, Haiti, Father Barthelemy Garcon took his first vows with the Society of Monfort Missionaries at the age of 24 and attended seminary at the National Major Seminary Notre Dame d'Haiti in Port-au-Prince. Father Garcon was ordained by Bishop Francois Gayot on December 28, 1986 on the grounds of Bassin-Bleu Catholic Church on December 28, 1986.

Father Garcon is one of ten children—including a sister who is a Salesian Sister. He expressed an interest in the priesthood as a child and credits another member of his order for helping him fulfill his vocation by helping his family pay for his education in the seminary.

For the first two decades of his priesthood Father Garcon’s pastoral assignments were in Haiti and France. He arrived at the Diocese of Orlando in 2008 and spent a year at Our Lady of the Springs Catholic Church in Ocala, followed by another year as parochial vicar at St. Timothy Catholic Community in Lady Lake. He is currently the Parochial Administrator of St. Jude Catholic Community in Ocala.

“After 25 years if I had to make the decision again to become a priest I would make the same decision, because serving is very important for a Christian.” said Father Garcon.

Reverend Anthony Leo Hodges
Father Anthony Leo Hodges was born in Ft. Dix, NJ and grew up in Winter Park where he attended St. Margaret Mary Catholic School. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in Criminology from Florida State University in 1981 he entered St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana and was ordained by Bishop Thomas Grady at St. James Cathedral in Orlando on May 31, 1986.

What I found to be most rewarding about my priesthood experience is the gift of contemplative prayer,” said Father Hodges. “The Benedictine monks of St. Meinrad were such a positive influence to me and a witness of an alternative way of being. I try to incorporate a contemplative spirit in my life and ministry.”

Father Hodges’ pastoral assignments have included Holy Name of Jesus in Indialantic, Bishop Moore High School in Orlando, and Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Ormond Beach. He has been pastor of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Palm Bay since 2000, and is Diocesan Chaplain to the Incarcerated.

Reverend Timothy LaBo
Originally from Akron, Ohio, Father Timothy LaBo came to Florida in 1977 to study Marine Biology at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, but the campus ministry program inspired him to pursue the priesthood.

After graduation Father LaBo entered St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, MD and he was ordained on May 31, 1986 by Bishop Thomas Grady at St. James Cathedral in Orlando.

Father LaBo’s first assignment proved to be one of his most challenging and rewarding. In addition to parish ministry, for 10 years he served as the Diocesan Director for HIV/AIDS Ministry and Education. “There was only one other minister in town who would take care of people who had HIV,” he said. “Many (AIDS patients) wanted to be baptized and they wanted to be Catholic because of the care and the witness of the Church coming to be with them.”

Father LaBo’s AIDS Ministry was followed by a sabbatical period where he worked for the Orange County Citizen’s Commission for Children. He now serves as pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Apopka.

Very Reverend Robert Edward Webster
Originally from Rhode Island, Father Robert Webster relocated to the Diocese of Orlando shortly after he entered Our Lady of Providence College Seminary and did most of his studies at Saint Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, IL. He was ordained by Bishop Thomas Grady at St. James Cathedral on May 31, 1986.

Currently serving as the pastor of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Clermont and Director of Liturgy for the Diocese of Orlando, Father Bob has been busier than ever as he prepares parishes for the introduction of the revised Roman Missal on November 27, 2011, the first Sunday of Advent.

“This year I have been traveling from parish to parish doing presentations and it’s really been exciting to do that,” said Father Webster. “God is giving us the opportunity to hear his words again for the first time.”

Another accomplishment for Father Webster during his 25 years of priesthood was the renovation of St. Paul Catholic Church in Daytona Beach and its dedication as a basilica in 2006—the first basilica dedicated in the U.S. by Pope Benedict XVI. For his efforts he was named proto canon of the Basilica.