Ridgewood Catholics To Be Ordained As Priests By Newark Archdiocese

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — Two Catholic men with ties to Ridgewood will be ordained as priests by the Archbishop of Newark later this month.

Robert Burkot, a transitional deacon at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church; and Frenel Phanord, also a deacon and a member of the same church, will be ordained to the priesthood on May 27 in Newark, according to a release.

"This year's ordinandi (ordination candidates) are a great bunch of guys," the Archdiocese's director of vocations Father Eugenio de la Rama said. "...they represent a great diversity of backgrounds and experiences that will help them in their ministry."

Burkot, 59, who has been a member of parishes in Bergen County throughout his life; and Phanord, 31, will be ordained by the Archdiocese Cardinal Joseph Tobin in Newark’s Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

Despite different backgrounds, Deacons Burkot and Phanord (ordained in May 2022) share something in common: "Their lives have been made whole by God" — the release from the Archdiocese's office said.

Burkot was inspired to become a priest, the release said, after he had a dream in which Mary, mother of Jesus, pushed him into Jesus' embrace. He has worked as a catechist, helped his widowed sister raise her children, and acted as a caretaker and legal advocate for his sister after she was diagnosed with cancer.

He is "excited to help even more people upon entering the priesthood," the release continued.

Phanord joined seminary believing he might find answers to questions he had (as a teenager in the Turks and Caicos Islands) about his purpose in life.

He thought he'd last a year or two. He never left.

"Now on the verge of entering the priesthood... Phanord is eager to help others by bringing them to Christ," the release said.

The soon-to-be-priests will be ordained at 10 a.m. along with deacons JuHyun Andrew Lee (of Fort Lee) and Bernardo Garcia, and all will then be assigned to parishes in Northern New Jersey.

"As Pope Francis said, the modern-day priesthood is a sacramental expression of Christ’s work," Fr. de la Rama said. "The priesthood is not a job — it’s a participation in Christ’s healing, mercy, and love for his people."

"And I’m confident," he added, "that these men will grow in that mission every day through prayer and their good works.”