Four in Fall River Diocese to be ordained transitional deacons on way to priesthood

FALL RIVER — Four seminarians studying for the priesthood for the Fall River Diocese will be ordained transitional deacons by Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, at an 11 a.m. Mass on Saturday, May 22, in St. Mary’s Cathedral, Fall River.

To be ordained are Matthew F. Laird, William O’Donnell III, Gregory Quenneville, and Laurent M. Valliere. As deacons, they will be able to assist the priest at Mass and be an ordinary minister of the Eucharist, proclaim the Gospel and preach, baptize, and minister at other services.

Their ordination to the transitional diaconate will begin the final leg of their journey toward the priesthood. In the fall, they will begin their final year of studies at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton. It is anticipated that each will be ordained a priest next year.

Laird, 28, is from Sandwich, Mass., and is the son of David and Kathleen Laird. His home parish is Christ the King in Mashpee. He is a 2011 graduate of St. John Paul II High School in Hyannis and a 2015 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, from which he earned a bachelor’s degree in biology.

O’Donnell, 41, grew up in Harwich, Mass., the son of Patty and the late William O’Donnell, Jr. He is a parishioner of Holy Trinity Parish in West Harwich. He graduated from Harwich High School in 1996 and received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Stonehill College in Easton in 2000.

Quenneville, who is 36, is from South Attleboro and is a parishioner of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Parish in that city. He is the son of Donald and Elizabeth Quenneville. A graduate of Attleboro High School in 2003, he went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Massachusetts in 2007 and a master’s in social work from Rhode Island College in 2012.

Valliere, 39, is the son of Laurent and Maureen Valliere, and a parishioner of St. Stanislaus Parish in Fall River. Originally from West Warwick, R.I., he is a 1999 graduate of Tollgate High School in Warwick. He earned a bachelor’s degree in religious studies in 2003 from Fairfield University in Connecticut.

The Ordination on Saturday will be livestreamed on the Fall River Diocesan Facebook page at www.facebook.com/fallriverdiocese.