Karl Davis, OMI, Ordained a Priest

St. James Cathedral in Brooklyn, NY, was the site of the August 13, 2005, ordination to the priesthood of Fr. Karl Davis, OMI.  Bishop Pierre-Antoine Paulo, OMI, Co-adjutor Bishop of Port-de-Paix, Haiti, ordained his fellow Oblate to the priesthood.

Fr. Karl was born in New York City in 1971, the son of Samuel and Marcella Davis, immigrants from the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago.  He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Iona University, NY, in 1993, and worked as an elementary school Physical Education teacher before entering the Buffalo, NY, pre-novitiate program in 1997.

Fr. Karl had requested of the Bishop of Brooklyn the privilege of being ordained in the diocesan cathedral, not only because his own parish church, St. Catherine of Genoa, is quite small, but also because, prior to entering the Oblates, he had been very involved in diocesan life.  He was active in various adult and youth ministries on a parish and diocesan level. He served on the team of leaders for planning two Kunjenga youth retreats.  He also served for three years on the diocesan pastoral team for Charismatic Renewal in Brooklyn and Queens.

The home parish of St. Catherine of Genoa, again not large enough for the people who wanted to take part in his Mass of Thanksgiving on August 14, offered the parking lot for the celebration.  Fr. Karl’s family and friends will long remember the joyful event, not only because of the beautiful liturgy but also because of the nearly 100 degree heat.  The Oblate who first invited him to join the community, Fr. Richard McAlear, OMI, preached the homily at the Mass.

The new priest recently completed his theological studies and achieved a Master of Divinity degree at Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, TX.  He had done his year of pastoral internship in Zambia.

For his first assignment as a priest, Fr. Karl will go to Christ the King Parish in Perrine, FL, in the Archdiocese of Miami, where he will minister with the pastor, Fr. James Flavin, OMI, in a very ethnically diverse community.

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Photos courtesy of Brothers David Muñoz and Ricardo López, OMI