June 4, 2012

Diocese’s newest priests bring variety of experiences, talents to ministry

 

REGIONAL

(Photo by Rebecca Drake)

Staff report

SPRINGFIELD – A musician, a sports announcer, a dairy farmer, a horticulture specialist, a lawyer – these are just a few of the experiences and skills possessed by the six newest priests of the Springfield Diocese.  

Ordained by Springfield Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell on June 2, they will begin their parish assignments this summer. Following are brief biographies of the six men whose life journeys lead them, sooner or later, to the altar of St. Michael’s Cathedral and service to Catholics in western Massachusetts.

Father Matthew Alcombright

Father Alcombright (right) was born Oct. 15, 1982. His parents are Richard Alcombright, mayor of North Adams, and Marianne Rosenburg. He has two sisters and a brother. Born and raised in North Adams, he attended Drury High School. During his youth he was active in the North Adams-based Church Outreach to Youth Program, known locally as simply COTY.

At an early age, Father Alcombright developed an interest in music and went on to earn his bachelor of arts degree in music and piano performance from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. During his last year of studies at UMass, he combined his musical interests with his strong faith commitment, serving as music director and organist at St. Mary Parish, Longmeadow. It was there he discerned his vocation to the priesthood and went on to study at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, Mass.

During that time, Father Alcombright also had parish assignments in Holyoke, at both St. Jerome and Immaculate Conception parishes, as well as serving in the last year at the Newman Center at UMass. His priestly formation has been supplemented with advanced training in American Sign Language and at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. He also has worked with the Ministry with the Deaf program in the Springfield Diocese.

Father Alcombright’s home parish is Blessed John Paul the Great Parish in Adams, where he celebrated his first Mass on Sunday, June 3. He has been assigned to Mary, Mother of Hope Parish in Springfield where he also anticipates assisting with the deaf ministry program.

 

Father Daniel Cymer

Father Cymer (left) was born June 13, 1984. His parents are Andrzej and Teresa Cymer; he has one younger sister. Born in Bielawa, Poland he graduated from Pope John Paul 2 High School, which was located near his home. 

Recognizing his call to the priesthood at an early age, Father Cymer immediately went on to earn his philosophy undergraduate degree from the Swidnica Diocesan Seminary. Like many of his generation in Polish seminaries, he was keenly aware of the shortage of priests in the United States, as compared to his native country.

Father Cymer elected to complete his priestly studies at SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake Mich., where he came to learn of the needs of the Diocese of Springfield. He was attracted to western Massachusetts in part because of its Polish population and the fact that the geography of the diocese was quite similar to his native country. He felt his priestly ministry could best be utilized here, so he made the tremendous personal sacrifice to leave his family and all that was familiar to seek ordination in the Diocese of Springfield.

Father Cymer completed his studies with a 3.39 GPA and spent the last year in parish ministry at St. Mary Parish in Cheshire, where he celebrated his first Mass on June 2. He has been assigned to St. John the Evangelist Parish in Agawam.

 

Father Matthew Guidi

Father Guidi (right) was born Nov. 3, 1981. His parents are Skal and Marcia Guidi and he is the oldest of five children. A 2000 graduate of Holyoke Catholic High School, he went on to earn his undergraduate degree from the College of Our Lady of the Elms in Chicopee, where he majored in psychology and minored in religious studies and philosophy.

During his college years and leading up to his entry into the seminary Father Guidi worked in a number of food service and retail businesses. In fact, he carefully discerned his vocation for a number of years before applying and being accepted to St. John Seminary in Brighton.

His home parish is Our Lady of the Cross in Holyoke. He served his diaconate assignment at St. Rose de Lima Parish in Chicopee, where he celebrated his first Mass on June 3 and where he also will be first assigned.

 

Father Yerick Mendez

Father Mendez (left) was born Dec. 17, 1981. His parents are Osvaldo and Yolanda Mendez and he is the oldest of five children. Born in Hartford, Conn., he was raised in Westfield and graduated from Westfield Vocational Technical School. He went on to earn an associate’s degree from Stockbridge School of Agriculture at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

Until that time, Father Mendez thought his calling was to work with God’s earth through horticulture, but he says that  he came to realize the seed of faith bore greater fruit and went onto earn his undergraduate degree in philosophy from Providence College before entering St. John Seminary in Brighton in 2008.

His home parish is St. Mary Parish in Westfield where he celebrated his first Mass on June 3. He served his diaconate assignment at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Belchertown and has been assigned to Sacred Heart Parish in Springfield.

 

Father Peter Naranjo

Father Naranjo (right) was born March 27, 1960. His parents are Peter and Patricia Naranjo and he is the youngest of five children. Born in Huntington, N.Y., he was raised in Hudson, N. H., where he attended St. Kathryn Parish.

By his own admission, Father Naranjo was a rebellious youth. After graduating from Merrimack High School in New Hampshire, he went on to earn a degree in aviation from the New England Aeronautical Institute in Nashua, N.H. Early on in his adult life, he left the Catholic Church and soon after became a member of the Church of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) where he assumed leadership roles as a “high priest.”

During that time, he worked as a senior technician and software engineer, as well as a sports radio announcer and producer for minor league teams in New Hampshire. Just over years ago, his parents, also inactive Catholics, returned to their faith, which caused Father Naranjo to reconsider and eventually rejoin the Catholic Church. After completing a year of studies in philosophy from Holy Apostles College Seminary in Cromwell, Conn., he entered the Blessed John XXIII Seminary in Boston.

Father Naranjo claims St. Francis of Assisi in Belchertown as his diocesan home parish and said his first Mass there on June 3. He served his diaconate assignment at St. Elizabeth Parish in Ludlow and has been assigned to Sacred Heart Parish, Pittsfield.   

 

Father James Nolte

Father Nolte (left) was born July 28, 1964. His parents are Robert Nolte and Patricia Boiersma Kilburn; he has one sister. Born in Boston, he was raised in Connecticut. Neither of his parents was Catholic, nor was raised with any religious affiliation.

A graduate of Simsbury, Conn., High School, he went on to earn his undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut. His academic career was, however, just getting started.  Father Nolte went on to earn his juris doctor from Gonzaga University; a licentiate in philosophy from the Milltown Institute of Philosophy and Theology in Dublin, Ireland; and a master’s in divinity from the Weston School of Theology before being accepted into Blessed John XXIII Seminary in Boston in 2008 where he completed his priestly formation.

Prior to entrance in Blessed John XXIII, Father Nolte also taught law and philosophy at Seattle University, was a member of the Jesuit religious order for 10 years, and on two occasions served as a farmhand for the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Conn.

He claims both the abbey and, locally, St. Cecilia Parish Wilbraham, where his sister is a parishioner, as his home parishes.

Father Nolte served his diaconate assignment at Immaculate Conception Parish in Holyoke. He celebrated his first Mass at St. Patrick Church, South Hadley on June 3. He will be assigned to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Springfield.