Ordination will mark end and beginning of adventure for four men

For six years they have studied and prepared for the end of their journey and on June 23, Rev. Mr. Jesse Bolger, 34; Rev. Mr. Michael Foppiano, 27; Rev. Mr. Daniel Goulet, 33 and Rev. Mr. Michael Triplett, 28, will be ordained by Cardinal William H. Keeler as priests for the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Rev. Mr. Michael Triplett
Growing up at Sacred Heart, Glyndon, Rev. Mr. Triplett said he was influenced by many of the seminarians and priests that served his parish while he worked as a sacristan and an evening phone receptionist. He attended Calvert Hall College High School, Towson, and at one point considered devoting his life to ministry during an Appalachian work camp. In his senior year, after considering the Christian Brother’s Aspirancy program and with some encouragement from Monsignor Lloyd Aiken, pastor of Sacred Heart, Rev. Mr. Triplett applied for the priesthood with the archdiocese. In 1997, he became a college candidate.

“There is always a call to holiness that we are called to at our baptisms,” said Rev. Mr. Triplett, who is finishing his license studies in Spiritual Theology at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. “I have been very calm and reassured by Christ that this is where I’m called to be.”

Rev. Mr. Triplett was assigned to summer pastoral work at St. Anthony of Padua/ Most Precious Blood, Baltimore; St. John the Evangelist, Frederick; St. Benedict, Baltimore; St. Stephen, Bradshaw and he spent his pastoral year at St. John the Evangelist, Severna Park. In Italy, he worked at Santa Maria della Collonella in the diocese of Rimini for a summer.

“I am looking forward to celebrating the Mass and to be Christ for others,” said Rev. Mr. Triplett. “I am looking forward to getting back into a parish full time and getting to know the families and being a part of the community.”

Rev. Mr. Daniel Goulet
Rev. Mr. Goulet entered into active-duty service with the United States Army after graduating from Portland High School, Maine, in 1992. He attended Our Lady of Peace parish on the campus of Fort Meade, Maryland, where he was stationed. Rev. Mr. Goulet entered into the RCIA program to prepare for the sacrament of confirmation, at which time he started to discern his vocation to the priesthood.

In 2001, he applied for the Archdiocese of Baltimore as a Co-Sponsored Seminarian with the Military Archdiocese and entered St. Mary’s Seminary and University, Roland Park. He has served at Immaculate Conception, Towson; St. Agnes, Catonsville; Sacred Heart, Glyndon and his chaplain candidate assignments include Joint Forces Headquarters, Baltimore; 629th Military Intelligence Battalion, Laurel and the 1/175th Infantry Battalion, Dundalk.

“I am looking forward to serving God, the church, and the faithful people of the Archdiocese of Baltimore both here and in the armed forces,” said Rev. Mr. Goulet, who said he is also excited to minister the sacraments especially the anointing of the sick.

Rev. Mr. Jesse Bolger
After owning and operating a landscaping company in the Frederick area for a few years,
Rev. Mr. Bolger decided to put down the garden tools and labor in the vineyard of the Lord. The Mount St. Joseph High School, Irvington, graduate entered the seminary in the fall of 2001.

“Through prayer I felt the Lord calling me to feed his people,” said Rev. Mr. Bolger. “I like to say that I was married to the church last year when I was ordained a transitional deacon. This year I will become a father like a husband awaits the birth of a child.”
His pastoral assignments include St. Peter the Apostle, Oakland; St. Thomas Aquinas, Hampden; and for the last three years, St. Louis, Clarksville. He added that Monsignor Joseph Luca has been a great mentor and teacher.

He looks forward to “making Christ present through the Eucharist” and through the sacrament of reconciliation. As a priest he is looking forward to ministering to God’s people and anointing the sick and dying.

Rev. Mr. Michael Foppiano
In 1998, Rev. Mr. Foppiano enrolled at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. While at college he became active at Holy Rosary, Fells Point, through a good friend who was a seminarian for the archdiocese. The native New Yorker began seminary studies at Theological College at CUA and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in 2002. He continued his studies at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, where he received his master’s degree in theology.

“My parents were a big influence in my life and they told me to be open to whatever my call was in life,” said Rev. Mr. Foppiano.

Rev. Mr. Foppiano spent his summer assignments at Church of the Resurrection, Ellicott City; St. Louis, Clarksville, and Sacred Heart of Mary, Graceland Park. He spent his pastoral year at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Essex. As a transitional deacon he has served at Holy Family Catholic Community, Middletown.

“I think what’s really on my mind is the future. It’s an end but it’s really just the beginning,” said Rev. Mr. Foppiano. “It’s the beginning of the rest of my life.”

Rev. Mr. Foppiano is looking forward to celebrating Mass because “there is nothing more important,” he said.

Catholic Review

The Catholic Review is the official publication of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.