Four men will be ordained transitional deacons by Archbishop John G. Vlazny on Saturday, May 23 at St. Mary’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The Mass of Ordination will begin at 11:00 am. Those being ordained are Ysrael C. Bien, Raul Marquez, Robert Wolf and Brother Mark Kissner, OCD. A transitional deacon is one who will continue his studies towards ordination as a priest.
Ysrael C. Bien was born in Tabaco City, Philippines in 1980. He is one of seven children of Felipe N. Bien (deceased) and Amparo C. Bien. Ysrael attended Catholic Central School and graduated from St. Gregory the Great Seminary High School in 1997, both in Tabaco City. He graduated from Mater Salutis College Seminary with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Classical Philosophy in 2001. He moved to Mount Angel Seminary and his is working on three theology degrees. Ysrael’s ministry training assignments have included the Psychiatric Ward at Oregon State Hospital in Salem, Clinical Pastoral Education at New York Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, a Spanish immersion program in Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico, and a year-long pastoral internship at St. Mary’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Portland.
Raul Marquez is one of six children of Esmeragdo Marquez (deceased) and Maria Ofir Castano. Raul was born in Abejorral, Columbia in 1970. He attended San Antonio Maria Claret elementary school in Medellin, Antioquia, Columbia and graduated from Centro de Orientacion Vocacional School Medellin in 1989. He attended the University of Phoenix in Salt Lake City, UT graduating with a Bachelor of Business degree in Information Systems. He entered Sacred Heart School of Theology at Hales Corners, WI in 2006. His ministry training assignments included Clinical Pastoral Education at Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, FL and a summer assignment at St. Peter Parish in Portland.
Robert Wolf is one of six children of Thomas and Connie Wolf. He was born in Salem, OR, and attended elementary and secondary schools in Keizer, graduating from McNary High School in 1997. He attended Lane Community College and Western Oregon University before entering Mount Angel Seminary. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy Mount Angel in 2005. His assignments in ministry training have included St. Edward Parish in Keizer, the Marion Estates in Sublimity, Christ the King Parish in Milwaukie, Our Lady of the Mountain in Ashland, St. Anthony Parish in Forest Grove and Immanuel Hospital in Omaha, NE for Pastoral Clinical Education training.
Brother Mark Kissner is a member of the Order of Carmelite Friars, California-Arizona Province. He was born in Dayton, OH in 1967. His parents are Thomas and
Mary Anne Kissner, and he is one of two children. He attended elementary and secondary schools in Centerville, OH, graduating from Centerville High School in 1985. He graduated from Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. He earned a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Dayton, Dayton, OH in 1992. He worked for 12 years as an electronic design engineer in Dayton and Cincinnati, OH and in San Jose and San Diego, CA. He currently is studying at Mount Angel Seminary. He professed religious vows on January 24, 2009. His ministry training assignments have included working with those in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults at St. Edwards Parish in Keizer, working with the confirmation process at St. John the Baptist Parish in Milwaukie, and teaching in the religious education program at St. Joseph Parish in Salem.
All four men will continue their studies and preparation for ordination as a priest next year.
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