WATERLOO — Since childhood, Deacon David Cataline has faithfully served the church in a multitude of roles — from altar server and catechist to transitional deacon. Now, he stands just weeks away from a new life in the church.
After seven years in formation, Deacon Cataline will be ordained a priest by Bishop John S. Bonnici on June 27, 2026. The ordination Mass will begin at 10 a.m. at Rochester’s Sacred Heart Cathedral.
“It’s surreal,” Deacon Cataline said of his pending ordination. “I’m anxious and excited.”
Geneva native was always involved in the church
A native of Geneva, Deacon Cataline attended St. Stephen Church, now part of Our Lady of Peace Parish. Growing up, he was an altar server, active in youth ministry and served as a catechist for 10 years. He also worked in the church rectory during high school. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in elementary and special education from St. John Fisher College, he moved to Baltimore, Md., and worked for 15 years as a teacher and then vice principal in the Baltimore City Public Schools. While in Baltimore, Deacon Cataline remained active in the church, serving in numerous roles in the archdiocese.
“I never stopped being active in the church,” he said.
Signs from God that Deacon Cataline should consider the priesthood
Given his deep involvement in church life, Deacon Cataline admits that a call to priestly vocation may have been present the whole time, but he “wasn’t paying attention to it.”
“I’m the youngest of three boys, but I was the only one in my family who was going to provide grandchildren for my family, so I kind of didn’t want to listen to the call to the priesthood,” he explained. “I wanted to be a family man.”
However, Deacon Cataline said there were signs that God was leading him to the priesthood. One day, while preparing for Mass, he said he felt the urge to go to confession and then heard a voice saying, “OK, now listen closely.” Another time, his brother called him one night and said he dreamed he attended Deacon Cataline’s ordination. Another sign came from the words “You are a priest forever” inscribed on the archway above the pew he sat in each week for Mass.
Diocese of Rochester seminarian was oldest one at Boston seminary
These signs led Deacon Cataline to talk with priests and the vocations director in Baltimore. But since the Rochester Diocese needs priests and his family lives here, he decided to pursue priesthood for this diocese. He was sent by Bishop Emeritus Salvatore R. Matano to St. John’s Seminary in Boston in 2019 at age 43, making him the oldest seminarian there
“I’m not going to say it (seminary) was easy,” Deacon Cataline said, noting that most of his seminary classmates were half his age or younger. “It was a struggle in the beginning to go back to college basically and to be the one going from giving the test to taking the test. But throughout the journey, priests, family and friends continuously encouraged me to keep going.”
“It was a good experience in the fact that I grew in my faith,” he added. “I grew in my prayer life. I feel like I have grown in holiness, and I have made some really good friends in the seminary.”
In 2023, Deacon Cataline chose to break up his seminary studies by serving a pastoral year at Our Mother of Sorrows and Holy Cross parishes in Greece and Rochester. Pastoral years enable seminarians to become immersed in parish life and the daily work of priests.
“That experience at Our Mother of Sorrows and Holy Cross was a wonderful experience, a wonderful time,” Deacon Cataline recalled.
Seminarian humbled by the support of the community
Last May, Bishop Emeritus Salvatore R. Matano ordained Deacon Cataline to the diaconate. Since then, he has been serving the people of St. Francis and St. Clare Parish in Waterloo and Seneca Falls. He returned to St. John’s Seminary in the fall for his final semester and, while there, served the community of St. Paul Parish in Cambridge, Mass. Upon completing his academic studies in December, he returned to St. Francis and St. Clare Parish. Parishioners from St. Francis and St. Clare and Our Lady of Peace will be traveling by bus to Rochester for his ordination.
“I feel truly amazed, but I’m also blessed to have all these people supporting me in my journey,” he said.
While Deacon Cataline said he is humbled by the number of people planning to be present for his ordination, three people will be notably absent from the celebration. Deacon Cataline’s father, John, passed away two months prior to his diaconal ordination last year. He also lost both his brothers, John and Michael, while he was discerning and studying for the priesthood.
“It will be bittersweet,” he said. “I know they’re going to be there in another form.”
Deacon Cataline looking forward to new ministry as priest
While his first priestly assignment has not yet been announced, Deacon Cataline will celebrate his first Mass as a priest at Geneva’s St. Stephen Church on June 28.
As he prepares to transition into full-time priestly ministry, he said he is looking forward to celebrating Mass and being a “spiritual healer and the instrument of Christ in healing” through the sacrament of reconciliation.
“The things I can’t do now I’m looking forward to doing the most, because each time I’m at Mass and I see Father elevate the host or elevate the chalice, I still get a little choked up, because that’s what I’m called to do,” Deacon Cataline said.
Tags: Holy Orders, Priests
