To Be Ordained June 6, 2026
With praise and thanksgiving, the Diocese of Austin has announced that Deacon Solomon Cletus Akpan will be ordained to the Sacred Order of Presbyter on Saturday, June 6, 2026, at 10:30 AM at St. William Parish in Round Rock.
Once ordained, he will be Father Solomon Akpan. His Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Mary’s will be celebrated on Sunday, June 14.
Diocesan Ordination AnnouncementMass of Thanksgiving at St. Mary’s
After his ordination to the priesthood, Fr. Solomon Akpan will return to St. Mary’s to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving. All are invited to join us for Mass and a reception in the gym afterwards.
Sunday, June 14, 2026
9:30 AM Mass
St. Mary’s Catholic Church
Temple, Texas
Schedule
Come celebrate with us
The ordination of a new priest is a gift for the whole Church. Please join us in prayer and thanksgiving as we celebrate this joyful day for Fr. Solomon and for the Diocese of Austin.
Supporting Fr. Solomon
Your prayers and support are the most important gift you can give to Fr. Solomon as he is ordained to the priesthood. He is deeply grateful for the love, encouragement, and prayers of the St. Mary’s community.
If you would also like to give a monetary or physical gift, one way to support Fr. Solomon is through his Cash App. He is currently saving toward a car for his ministry needs as he begins priestly service.
Give to Fr. SolomonBiography
Birthday: August 7
Home Parish: St. Peter Catholic Student Center
Parish Assignment: St. Louis King of France, Austin
Level of Formation: Transitional Diaconate
Patron Saints: St. Francis of Assisi and St. Thomas Aquinas
Random Fact: He likes soccer and smiling.
College: Baylor University
Vocation Story
Dcn. Solomon was raised in a devout Catholic family. From childhood, he remembers imitating the celebration of the Mass and growing in love for the liturgy. At the age of nine, he became an altar server.
His family life and parish life helped nurture the first seeds of his priestly vocation. The faith he received at home, together with his service at the altar, helped him recognize the Lord’s invitation more deeply.
As he continued to discern, the love of the Mass and the joy of serving the Church remained central parts of his journey toward priesthood.
Pray for Fr. Solomon
O Jesus, our great High Priest, hear our humble prayers on behalf of your priest, Father Solomon. Give him a deep faith, a bright and firm hope, and a burning love which will ever increase in the course of his priestly life.
In his loneliness, comfort him; in his sorrow, strengthen him; in his frustration, point out to him that it is through suffering that the soul is purified. Show him that he is needed by the Church, he is needed by souls, he is needed for the work of redemption.
O loving Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Priests, take to your heart your son who is close to you because of his priestly ordination, and because of the power which he has received to carry on the work of Christ in a world which needs him so much. Be his comfort, be his joy, be his strength, and especially help him to live and to defend the ideal of consecrated celibacy.
Amen.
