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Two Salesians of Don Bosco were ordained to the priesthood and one to the transitional diaconate June 26 at St. John Bosco Church in Port Chester. They were Fathers Leonard Carlino, S.D.B., and Steven DeMaio, S.D.B., and Deacon Ky Nguyen, S.D.B.
The newly ordained belong to the Salesian province of St. Philip the Apostle in New Rochelle.
Auxiliary Bishop Edmund J. Whalen, vicar for clergy in the archdiocese, presided and preached. Also participating was Bishop John O. Barres of Rockville Centre.
Both Father Carlino and Father DeMaio studied theology for four years at the Studium Theologicum Salesianum in Jerusalem, also known as the Ratisbonne Institute, an affiliate of the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome. Both were ordained transitional deacons in 2020 at the Church of All Nations in Gethsemane, Jerusalem.
Father Leonard Carlino Jr., S.D.B., was born in 1991, the son of Linda and Leonard Carlino Sr., parishioners of St. Thomas More in Hauppauge.
Father Carlino entered the Salesians in 2009. At Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., he earned a bachelor’s degree in Catholic theology, followed by a master’s in religious education from Fordham University, the Bronx. At the Ratisbonne he earned a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology.
He professed first vows in 2014 and made final vows in 2019. He completed practical training at Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero, La., 2015-2017, teaching religion and assisting with the band and choir. He called his 11 years as a Salesian a beautiful “life of consecration in prayer, community, and mission. I’ve been blessed to meet Salesians from many different contexts, backgrounds and countries. While we are all unique, we share this identity as sons of Don Bosco and followers of Christ as ministers of the Church to young people.”
Father Carlino is serving as parochial vicar and coordinator of youth ministry at St. John Bosco parish in Port Chester.
Father Steven DeMaio, S.D.B., who was born in 1985, is the son of Steven and Theresa DeMaio of Ave Maria, Fla. His hometown is Sherman, Conn.
Father DeMaio attended James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. At the Ratisbonne he earned a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology.
He met the Salesian Sisters in Lusaka, Zambia, while working for a Spanish NGO. He entered the Salesians in 2010, professed first vows in 2012 and final vows in 2018. He completed practical training at Salesian High School, New Rochelle, 2014-2017, teaching religion and serving as campus minister.
He speaks of his Salesian experience as “one of healing and growth towards a deeper and more intimate relationship with God through my encounter with my Salesian brothers and the many people I have encountered on the way.”
Father DeMaio is assisting in the province’s vocation office in New Rochelle.
Deacon Ky Nguyen, S.D.B., was born in 1986 at Dakmil, Vietnam, the son of Peter Minh Xuan Nguyen and Mary Hoang Dang. He received a bachelor’s degree in material science from the University of Natural Science in Ho Chi Minh City. He is a student at Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange, N.J.
Deacon Nguyen entered the Salesians as a candidate in 2004 and professed first vows in 2011 in Ho Chi Minh City. After immigrating to the United States in 2016 to rejoin his family, he made final vows in 2019.
He did his practical training in the Salesian boarding school at Bao Loc, Vietnam, teaching computer science and providing assistance to the students, and Salesian High School, New Rochelle, 2017-2018, where he was a campus minister. As a student of theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary, he resides in the Salesian community of Orange, N.J., and continues youth ministry activities there.
Concerning his Salesian life in two countries, he writes: “Being a professed Salesian for 10 years has offered me chances to follow Christ in Don Bosco’s charism to serve young people. There have been up-and-down moments on this journey. But in general, it has been a beautiful journey.”
Bishop Whalen, in his homily, noted the blessings their parents gave to the ordinands—the gift of God’s love, and through the ordained that love will flow on to God’s family, the Church.
The Gospel reading (John 20:19-23), the bishop said, shows Jesus coming to his disciples, challenging them, sending them to visit God’s people and breathe his life into them.
Citing the concluding words of the Eucharistic Prayer at every Mass—“Through Him, with Him and in Him”—Bishop Whalen challenged the ordinands to remember their ministry is always about Jesus and His people.
