Diocese of Pittsburgh welcomes salesman, butcher, pilgrim into priesthood

A salesman, a butcher and a pilgrim — three men who chose to exit the secular world and don the priest’s collar.

On Saturday, a morning Mass marked the ordination into the priesthood of Daniel James D’Antonio, Thomas Glynn Kadlick and Jacob Henry Gruber at St. Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood.

The new church leaders come at a time when the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh has been undergoing a consolidation effort, with 40 parishes in the diocese merging into 14 new groupings in 2021.

During the Mass, Bishop David Zubik likened their varied histories to those of the early apostles.

“I think that maybe some people might want to have some proof that God does have a sense of humor, and if you didn’t feel that whenever Jesus chose the first apostles, let me tell you these three guys will put the icing on the cake,” Zubik said. “And I mean that with all due respect.”

“That God would choose a former tobacco salesman, a meat butcher, and a global pilgrim to become priests is quite remarkable.

“But the one thing that inspires me about the three of you is one word: j-o-y. Anyone who knows you experiences joy.”

The new priests have local ties, having graduated from local high schools and been assigned to local parishes: D’Antonio is parochial vicar for Saint Joseph the Worker Parish (Forest Hills, Braddock, Braddock Hills, Swissvale, Churchill, Turtle Creek and Wilmerding) and Saint Thomas the Apostle Parish (Duquesne, Homestead Munhall, West Mifflin, Whitaker); Gruber is parochial vicar, pro tem to Saint James Parish (Washington, Claysville) and Saint Katharine Drexel Parish (Bentleyville, Richeyville) and will return to Theological College in Washington D.C. for graduate studies this fall; and Kadlick at Saint Andrew the Apostle Parish (Donora, Monongahela, Charleroi).

D’Antonio graduated from West Mifflin Area High School in 1996. After earning a degree in business and developing a career in sales, he was accepted into the priestly formation program in 2017 and completed studies at Saint Vincent Seminary.

“It’s amazing to be where I went to high school with the people I grew up with. It’s a great honor to be with them,” D’Antonio said.

Kadlick graduated from Deer Lakes High School in 2013 and studied secondary education English and special education at Point Park University. In 2017, he was accepted into the priestly formation program and began studies at St. Paul Seminary and Duquesne University. He completed theological studies at Saint Vincent.

Gruber graduated from Baldwin High School in 2013 and attended Robert Morris University in Moon. In 2014, he was accepted into the priestly formation program and studied at St. Paul Seminary and Duquesne University. He completed his studies at Theological College and the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.

“What a gift,” Gruber said. “When you sign up for being a Christian, you could be sent anywhere. We have saints that have been sent all over the world, but it’s just a very special thing to be close to home, close to people that I know and love and to be at a parish that comes from where I come from.”

Gruber isn’t the only priest in the family. In fact, the 12th child in a family of 14, he is the third to enter the priesthood.

“Just about all of them are here today,” he said. “We got 38 nieces and nephews, and quite a few of them are here as well. To get to bless your parents at the end, I think that’s something that I’ll remember forever.”

After the service, Zubik said being able to ordain priests is “exhilarating.”

“These guys are full of so much energy,” he said. “They’re excited about being priests, and they’ve done a terrific job getting ready for this day.”

Acknowledging the smaller footprint of the diocese in recent years as some churches have closed and consolidated, Zubik said it’s important to “make better use of our resources.”

“That’s why we started the whole process back in 2015,” he said. “Our structure before was pretty much designed for what the church of Pittsburgh looked like in the early 1900s. Now, we’re moving forward to do the best job that we can to serve people.”

D’antonio said seeing new priests entering the field is a sign of hope that “the Lord is still providing shepherds.”

“Also, I think an ordination like this may encourage young men to think about the priesthood and start that journey to shepherd the people of God,” he said.

Correction: An earlier version of this story had inaccurate parish assignments.