CHARLESTON — Richard Tomlinson, a seminarian for the Diocese of Charleston, was ordained to the transitional diaconate at St. Paul’s Basilica in Rome on June 19.
Bishop Christopher Saunders of the Diocese of Broome, Australia, celebrated the Mass.
Deacon Tomlinson attended Pontificio Collegio Beda seminary in Rome, where he worked on a doctorate in biblical theology. The Beda is a college for late vocations and is located across from the Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls.
Deacon Tomlinson has since returned to South Carolina, where he will be assigned to serve in a parish.
He has completed the necessary academic requirements for priesthood and will be ordained at 10 a.m. Nov. 21 at St. Theresa the Little Flower Church in Summerville.