Gerry Olinger ’97 Ordained to the Priesthood
Class of ’97 Alumnus Gerard J. Olinger was ordained to the Congregation of the Holy Cross by Holy Cross Bishop Daniel R. Jenky of Peoria, Ill., on April 10 at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, located on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.
The oldest of four children, Father Gerry was born in Springfield, Pa., where he attended St. Kevin School prior to Devon Prep. He earned both a bachelor’s degree in history and government and a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame before entering the candidate program at Moreau Seminary in 2004. Father Gerry is a member of the bar in both Pennsylvania and Indiana.
During his years of study and formation at Moreau Seminary, he volunteered with the Notre Dame Legal Aid Clinic, which provides free legal representation for people below the poverty line. He also served as a counselor at the Women’s Care Center in South Bend, worked with the RCIA program and taught sacramental preparation classes at St. Joseph Parish in South Bend, and served as assistant rector of Old College, the undergraduate seminary program at the University of Notre Dame.
Prior to his profession of perpetual vows with the Congregation of Holy Cross and his ordination to the diaconate in August 2009, Father Gerry was awarded a master of divinity degree from the University of Notre Dame. During the past year, he was assigned to the University of Portland where he has served as a transitional deacon in the Offices of Campus Ministry and Residence Life.
Following his ordination on Easter Saturday, Father Gerry offered a Mass of Thanksgiving at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on April 11 and later that evening at Siegfried Hall, a residence hall on the Notre Dame campus. He will also celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Kevin Church in Springfield, Pa., on May 23 at 1 p.m.