Joseph Grilliot, C.PP.S., Ordained to the Priesthood

Joseph Grilliot, C.PP.S., was ordained to the priesthood on September 24, 2011, in the Chapel of the Assumption at St. Charles Center in Carthagena, Ohio (Video).

"Keep always before your eyes the example of the Good Shepherd, who came not to be served but to serve, who came to seek out those who are lost," said Bishop Joseph Charron, C.PP.S., who presided at the ordination, in his homily.

"My prayer for you, Joe, on your ordination day, is that all your wonderful thoughts and desires (about the consecrated life) will be fulfilled."

The chapel was filled to its capacity with Fr. Grilliot's family, friends, Missionaries of the Precious Blood and their lay associates, sisters and others in the Precious Blood family.

Fr. Grilliot was ordained a deacon in January, and has spent the months since then in ministry at St. Agnes Church in Los Angeles, Calif. He will now return to St. Agnes, where he has been appointed associate pastor.

A native of Versailles, Ohio, he is the son of John and Louise Grilliot. Fr. Grilliot celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving at his home parish, St. Denis in Versailles on September 25.

He said he was profoundly grateful for the support he received from family, friends and the Precious Blood Community on his vocation journey.

"I can only begin to express how grateful I am. I have been blessed beyond words," he said during an announcement at the conclusion of the Mass of ordination. "After such a long journey, with so many challenges, I am most grateful to my family for their love for me and to the Precious Blood Community for the way they've shaped me."

A University of Toledo graduate, he was studying engineering as an undergraduate when he one day realized he was in the wrong major. The next day, he said, he changed his major to religious studies. After his graduation from the University of Toledo in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in philosophy, he entered initial formation with the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in 2005.

During special formation, he was assigned to Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Ottawa, Ohio. He earned a master of divinity degree earlier this year from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.


Photographs: Top: Newly ordained Father Joseph Grilliot, C.PP.S., celebrates Mass with Bishop Joseph Charron, C.PP.S., in the Chapel of the Assumption at St. Charles Center. Bottom: Fr. Joseph Grilliot, C.PP.S., with his parents, John and Louise Grilliot, and Bishop Joseph Charron, C.PP.S.