Seminarian William Wainio and now-Father Matthew Humerickhouse.

August 8 was an exciting day for Catholics in the Youngstown Diocese, and Council 11369 is proud to be an integral part of it.

Three seminarians were ordained as Catholic priests at St. Columba Cathedral in Youngstown, with Bishop Martin Amos emeritus of the Diocese of Davenport Iowa presiding.

They are Ryan Furlong, Matthew Humerickhouse and Matt Zwilling.

And Father Humerickhouse is one of out ‘adopted’ seminarians.

The council donated $1,000 each to Father Humerickhouse and Seminarian William Wainio as part of the order’s RSVP program, or Refund Support Vocation Program.

We are proud of our seminarians and the sacrifices they are making to grow the Faith.

Matthew Humerickhouse

Father Matthew Humerickhouse grew up in Jackson Township outside Canton.

He and his family attended St Michael the Archangel Church there.

Father Mathew graduated from Walsh University in North Canton and attended graduate classes there and at Franciscan University in Steubenville.

Father Matt worked for Buckeye Protective Services in security and Mark’s Inc., a construction firm for a time.

Then he decided he wanted to enter the priesthood.

He was accepted at Mount St. Mary Seminary in Cincinnati.

Father Matt completed his seminary studies at St. Mary Seminary in Wickliffe.

His summer and pastoral year assignments consisted of: St. Joan of Arc, Streetsboro, St. Joseph, Massillon, and St. Christine, Youngstown.

William Wainio

Our returning “adopted” seminarian is William Wainio from Boardman.

His home parish is St Angela Merici.

Bill is 26-years-old and graduated in 2011 from Ursuline High School in Youngstown.

He attended Youngstown State University for five years.

He finished his Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy at John Carroll University in May of 2019 and is continuing his education at St Mary Seminary and Graduate School.

His hobbies include listening to and playing music, especially playing the piano.

He enjoys art, and handmaking silk screened cards for Christmas and other holidays.

Bill loves being outdoors especially among nature, so he takes to camping, hiking, biking, etc.

He loves spending time with family and friends.

Bill is a 4th degree Knight.

His uncle Thomas Wainio lives in Canfield and is a member of Council 11369.

The Knights of Columbus Refund Support Vocation Program (RSVP), keeps the faith alive by
supporting our seminarians and postulants.

As the strong right arm of the church, Knights of Columbus are committed to providing moral, financial and spiritual support to our future priests and religious at all stages of their formation.

Though financial support is vitally important, it is not the only aspect of the RSVP program.

Councils are also called to provide their “adopted” seminarian or religious with moral support and prayers for their success.

The Ordination Ceremony will be rebroadcast on the Ecumenical Television Channel (ETC) by the Catholic Television Network of Youngstown (CTNY) on Aug 11 at 11:00 am and 8:30 pm and again on Aug 13 at 11:00 am and 8:30 pm.