February 27, 2003

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More Information, Contact:
Bud Bunce (503) 233-8373
bbunce@archdpdx.org

Archbishop will ordain two men deacons

        Two men will be ordained deacons on Saturday, March 22 at St. Mary's
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (NW 18th and Couch Streets, Portland).
Archbishop John G. Vlazny will ordain Theodore "Ted" Robert Prentice and Sean
Michael Weeks. Both men are working toward ordination to the priesthood. The Mass
of Ordination will begin at 11:00 a.m.

        Ted Prentice was born in 1963 in Portland, and lived in Blessed Sacrament
parish in North Portland. He is the son of Robert T. and Marianne T. Prentice. One of
eight children, Ted attended Pope John XXIII elementary school in Portland, and
graduated from Benson Polytechnic High School in 1981. He graduated from the
University of Portland in 1985 earning a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
degree.

        After graduation he worked as a Mechanical Engineer for companies in the Los
Angeles, California area. At the same time, Ted served as a Teaching Assistant at a
Catholic Alternative High-School in South-Central Los Angeles. Those years of living
and working in Los Angeles introduced Ted to the beautiful diversity of the Catholic
Church. Ted found himself challenged by a priest to consider a vocation to the
priesthood.

        In 1995 Ted returned to Portland, and entered Mount Angel Seminary in the fall
of 1998. His ministry training has included elder visitation at Mount Saint Joseph,
Portland, Pastoral Minister to the Latino Community at Holy Redeemer Parish in North
Portland, and clinical pastoral ministry at the Oregon State Hospital. Ted spent the
summer of 2002 at the Mexican American Cultural Center in a Spanish immersion
program. He is currently doing a pastoral internship at Christ the King Parish in
Milwaukie.

        Sean Weeks was born in Anaheim, CA, in 1970. He is the son of Gary and Betty
Weeks, and has three siblings. Sean attended Joshua Elementary School in Lancaster,
CA, and graduated from Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster in 1988. He also
attended Antelope Valley Community College in Lancaster. He worked for
Northrop/Grumman for five years.

        Sean spent time as a member of the Benedictine Order of St. Andrew's Abbey in
Valyermo, CA. He recently left the monastery in order to pursue a more active ministry
as a diocesan priest here in the Archdiocese of Portland. Sean completed the
requirements for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy as well as a Master of Arts
degree in Theology from Mount Angel Seminary in May 2002.

        Sean's ministry training has included working at All Saints Parish in Portland, at
St. Joseph Parish in Salem and at St. Mary's Cathedral in Portland. He also works part
time as a volunteer chaplain to the law enforcement agencies in Marion County, and
teaches Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido to seminarians at Mount Angel Seminary.
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