By CatholicPhilly Staff • Posted May 7, 2024

Five men will be ordained transitional deacons for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on Saturday, May 11 at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul celebrated by Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez.

All are invited to watch the livestream here on CatholicPhilly and on St. Charles Borromeo Seminary’s Facebook page.

After ordination these men will receive assignments at parishes in the archdiocese where they will minister for one year as they complete academic and other formational programs at the seminary prior to their anticipated ordination as priests in May 2025.

The 2024 Transitional Diaconate Ordinandi from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia are:

Robert T. Bollinger, 26, son of Dave and Karen Bollinger, is a native of Sellersville, Pennsylvania.

Chike Egbufoama, 42, son of Martin and Nneka Egbufoama, is a native of Nigeria.

Peter Nho Nguyen, 29, son of Peter Tam and Mary Thao Nguyen, is a native of Vietnam.

Edward Gibbons Town, 28, son of David and Kathryn Town, is a native of Chalfont, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Huntingtown, Maryland.

Brother Richard Scott Withers, 69, son of Robert Partrick Withers and Ita (Elaine) Astor. He is a native of San Fernando Valley in California. He grew up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and later moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the first diocesan hermit in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and made his vows as a hermit in 2001.