Ordination to the Priesthood: Joseph Delka

Friday, Jun. 19, 2015

SALT LAKE CITY — As a student at Utah State University, Joseph Delka participated in Saint Henry Parish’s living Stations of the Cross during Holy Week, an experience that today he sees as reflective of the role he hopes to serve after he is ordained a priest: He wants to walk with people and help them carry their crosses, he said.

He has spent the past six years in priestly formation, first at Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon and then at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he completed a baccalaureate degree in sacred theology. He has begun his studies for an advanced degree in moral theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum University) and will return to Rome in the fall to complete that degree.

“Looking back on the six years, it’s been an incredible time of grace; an incredible time of growth,” said Deacon Delka, who was ordained to the transitional diaconate last year. “I’m certainly not the same kid who entered six years ago fresh out of college. At that time I’d only been Catholic for two years. … This whole world was new to me.” 

A convert from Protestantism, he believes that the Catholic faith “is not only a Sunday thing,” he said. “It’s something that encompasses all of who we are.”

Living in Rome and traveling in Europe has made the faith more tangible to him, he said, because he visited many places made famous by the saints.

“You go to these places, and you’re like, ‘This is where they walked and talked. They lived here; this is where it all happened,’” he said. “God does transform lives, you see it in history.”

Sprinkled throughout the past six years have been moments of grace, many of which he didn’t realize had happened until he looked back on them later, he said, adding that his understanding of the faith has grown through study and prayer, as well as with the help of various spiritual directors who helped him discern God’s will.

One of those moments occurred last year, when he was ordained a transitional deacon. He had felt certain before then that he was on the correct path, but taking the vows of prayer, obedience and celibacy brought a sense of relief, he said, because he felt he had arrived at a place of stability.

Nevertheless, his service as a deacon did bring some change: After getting acquainted with the people in Christ the King Parish, where he was assigned last summer, he altered his approach to Scripture and the study of theology so that he could apply those to his preaching, through which he tried to address the needs of the congregation, he said.

Now, as his priestly ordination nears, he eagerly anticipates being able to celebrate the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist, he said.

“When you think about the power the Eucharist has, or confession – forgiving somebody’s sins – that’s pretty incredible. … Both of them are a very intimate moment in the life of a believer and the Church,” he said.

Then, after his studies are completed in Rome and he returns to Utah, he looks forward to being assigned to a parish, he said. “That is what I got into this for, to serve the people in the Diocese of Salt Lake City.”

His journey to the priesthood “wasn’t just me going along all by myself,” Deacon Delka said. “I’ve had a lot of support both materially and spiritually” from teachers, spiritual directors, and people throughout the diocese, particularly in the parishes he’s served.

After he is ordained, he will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving on June 27 at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Logan.

“That’s where I converted, that’s where I discerned a vocation,” he said. “That community has been very supportive of me these last six years.”

He also will celebrate the 11 a.m. Mass on June 28 at the Cathedral of the Madeleine. 

For the summer, he is assigned to Saint Andrew Parish in Riverton, where he will administer the sacraments and serve the congregation.

“This is what I was called to do,” he said. “This is my part in the Church that God has asked me to take on.”