“A great day for all of the Catholic Church”: First Maronite Catholic ordination in Pacific Northwest

As Anthony Joseph Alles is ordained, two deacons hold up a cloak called the bashkoon so that it shielded the man being ordained from view. (photo: Catholic Sentinel/Ed Langlois)

Details, from The Catholic Sentinel: 

In a liturgy Saturday that included actions unfamiliar to Roman Catholics, Father Anthony Joseph Alles became a priest of the Maronite Eparchy, or diocese, of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles. 

Father Alles is a member of the Maronite Monks of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, who live in a house in Beaverton. For many, the monks are spiritual guides, a kind of engine room of prayer for the archdiocese. 

The Portland native studied philosophy at the Franciscan University of Steubenville before returning home and embracing a vocation. He is the son of Doug Alles, the longtime Archdiocese of Portland Catholic Charities leader who is now leading that organization’s efforts in the Diocese of Boise. 

“The priesthood is for others,” said Bishop Elias Zaidan of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles. “If you want to be a leader, you need to love more.”

Bishop Zaidan told Father Alles that as a monk and a priest, he will bring people to God most effectively “by the kindness of your heart.”  

“Truly we rejoice in his vocation from this place,” said Dominican Father Vincent Kelber, pastor of Holy Rosary, where the ordination was held and where the new priest grew up. “This a great day for all of the Catholic Church.”

Read more. 

To learn more about the Maronite Catholic Church, check out this profile from CNEWA. 

And you can watch a brief video from the ordination below.