Kaíque Santos

FALL RIVER — Kaíque Santos, a seminarian studying for the priesthood for the Fall River Diocese, will be ordained a transitional deacon by Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V, in the context of an 11 a.m. Mass on Saturday, December 13, in St. Mary’s Cathedral, Fall River.

As a deacon, he will be able to assist the priest at Mass and be an ordinary minister of the Eucharist, proclaim the Gospel and preach, baptize, and minister at other services.

His ordination to the transitional diaconate will begin the final step of his preparation for the priesthood. It is anticipated he will be ordained a priest in the spring.

Santos, who is 30, reflected on his upcoming diaconal ordination as “a truly monumental occasion” in a recent interview in the diocesan newspaper The Anchor.

“A long chapter of my life is closing, and a profound new one is about to begin,” he said. Looking ahead, he shared that “my goal is to live out my commitment to the Church and serve the people entrusted to me with all the love and confidence that faith provides.”

Born in Teofilo Otoni, Brazil, he is the youngest of three children of Marizete and Aldair Burmann. His teenage years were marked by profound loss, losing a brother in a tragic accident and experiencing the death of his father two months later. Left spiritually adrift, he looks back on a 2010 youth retreat as a significant turning point, leading to a profound experience of Jesus’ love and a personal encounter with Him. Another retreat in 2011 awakened a vocational calling.

His journey of discernment and formation included time with the Brazilian Canção Nova Community and a 30-day retreat at a Carthusian Monastery. A friend introduced him to the Diocese of Fall River and Bishop da Cunha, also a native Brazilian, and he was welcomed into the Diocese in 2023. He is completing his final semester of studies this month at the Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange, N.J. As a seminarian, he served last summer at St. Joseph, Guardian of the Holy Family Parish in Falmouth.

The Ordination on Saturday will be livestreamed on the Our Lady of Fall River website at www.olfallriver.com. Click “Watch” on the top menu bar.

Kaique talks about his upcoming Ordination

Diocese of Fall River
Diocese of Fall River
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