Following the call: Trent Barton, Paul Trinh, and Jeffrey Ambreit Jr. ordained as transitional deacons
Bishop Michael Olson poses with Paul Trinh, Trent Barton, and Jeffrey Ambreit following their ordination to the transitional diaconate on March 18, 2026 at St. Mary of the Assumption in Fort Worth. (NTC/Juan Guajardo)
FORT WORTH — Simon Edmiston, 24, and Brendan Garretson, 22, didn’t know the three men ordained to the transitional diaconate March 18 in St. Mary of the Assumption Church.
“We’re just young Catholics who want to stay connected and involved in the Church,” said the Holy Family parishioners who were among the crowd of worshipers that filled the historic landmark on Fort Worth’s near south side. “We enjoy, as laity, participating in Masses like this.”
Enthusiastic members of the young Church, Garretson, a recent convert, and Edmiston, a cradle Catholic, believe other 20-somethings like them are searching for truth and structure in a world that is broken.
“I myself am drawn to the goodness, truth, and beauty of what the Catholic Church has to offer,” Edmiston explained. “That’s not available anywhere else. It’s a unique grace God has given us.”
The goodness, truth, and beauty of the Church were on full display as Bishop Michael Olson ordained Michael Trent Barton, Jeffrey Michael Ambreit Jr., and Paul John Trinh to the Sacred Order of the Diaconate during a rite steeped in symbolic meaning and gestures. Concelebrating the Ordination Mass with the bishop were Father Jonathan Wallis, vicar general; Father John Perikomalayil, HGN, St. Mary pastor; and diocesan priests.
As transitional deacons, the men will begin their final year of formation before the priesthood. They also enter the clerical state by making promises for the first time of obedience, celibacy, and obligation to pray daily the Liturgy of the Hours.
The transitional diaconate is not only a preparatory stage but a profound sacramental expression of diakonia — service — which is essential to the priesthood. It imbues future priests with a deeply rooted understanding of service as a fundamental dimension of their ministry, mirroring Christ’s mission to serve.
Through the sacrament of Holy Orders, the deacon is ordained to baptize, officiate at marriages, conduct funeral services, proclaim the Gospel, preach, and assist priests and bishops in their pastoral and administrative duties.
Family support
In his opening remarks, Bishop Olson, thanked the ordinands’ parents for introducing their sons to Christ and encouraging a vocation to the priesthood.
“It’s in your homes where they first heard the Gospel, learned about the Church, and learned to follow the commandments as Christ taught us,” he said. “You set examples of generosity of heart that brought them here this evening to answer the call Christ gave them.”
Waiting for the Ordination Mass to begin, Holly and Michael Trinh said their son, Paul, 26, always had a spiritual nature. Even as a young boy, his room was filled with statues and pictures of Jesus, Mary, and the saints.
“At the babysitter, he would play priest and have the other kids there respond to him,” his mother remembered. “It’s been a long journey. We thank God and Bishop Olson for guiding him to this day.”
Trent Barton’s parents, Jerry and Margie Barton, his four brothers, and members of his extended family traveled from Seymour to witness the former football coach be ordained a deacon.
“He grew up in a very Catholic-oriented, faith-based family so those are his roots,” Margie Barton observed.
The 37-year-old was out in the world and held a job since junior high, and that will work to his advantage in ministry, his mother said.
“Trent carries those experiences forward and will be able to relate to people,” she added. “God willing, he’ll be the first priest in our family. It’s wonderful to say the least.”
Haley Ambreit, the sister of ordinand Jeffrey Ambreit, 32, said her family prayed, “lots of Rosaries” for him over the years.
“We always felt this was his calling. It was his own decision, at his own pace, and in his own time,” she emphasized.
The eldest of nine children born to Begonia Quepons and the late Jeffrey Ambreit Sr., the seminarian began studying for the priesthood in 2012, left formation for several years, and returned to the seminary in 2023.
“He’s a good listener, very empathetic, and loving,” said the immigration paralegal, describing some of her brother’s notable qualities. “He’s someone parishioners can count on and trust.”
Called to serve
After the candidates were accepted for ordination with rousing applause from the congregation, Bishop Olson continued the Rite of Ordination with a homily that explained a deacon’s liturgical responsibilities and care of the poor.
“Tonight, we pray for these men who are to be ordained to the transitional diaconate for God’s blessing and mercy to come upon them,” he said. “In this liturgy of ordination, God calls them to service of others, especially the poor; God entrusts to them the responsibility of preaching the Gospel of Christ; and God appoints them as stewards and ministers of His mysteries.”
Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Apostles called seven men of untarnished reputation to care for the needs of foreign widows and orphans who were often victims of abuse, neglect, and mistreatment.
“Like the Apostles, we too must recognize that the poor and vulnerable among us are most in need of the Gospel as expressed in word and action,” the bishop explained. “It is the deacon’s responsibility to guard the poor and to ensure that they receive the authentic Gospel of Christ offered in sacrificial love.”
The celebrant advised the candidates to seek the intercession of St. Joseph in their ministry. St. Joseph is known as the protector of the unfortunate, the needy, exiles, the afflicted, the poor, and the dying.
The earthly father of Jesus is also an example of pure chastity for those ordained men who make a promise of celibacy. St. Joseph’s chastity is marked by wholeness, maturity, and integrity.
“His purity of heart is so directly focused upon God that he can let go of his own expectations, even around marriage, and live with obedience and attentiveness to Jesus Christ,” the bishop said. “He lives an integrity of life that confounds the world possessed by its passions and the carnal drives of the human condition: fear, anger, and physical pleasure.”
In closing, Bishop Olson urged the men to seek God’s will and not their own.
“Trust God just as St. Joseph did,” he directed.
Heralds of the Gospel
After promising respect and obedience to the bishop and his successors, the candidates lay prostrate in humble submission before the altar while the entire congregation prayed the intercessory Litany of Saints. Rising from prayer, the men once again knelt before the bishop, who imposes his hands on the head of each man as he invoked the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This ancient, traditional gesture dates back to the Apostles and is a central act of the ordination rite.
The new deacons then received the vestments of the office, the stole and dalmatic, from fellow deacons instrumental to their vocation. Entrusted with the responsibility of proclaiming and preaching the Gospel of Christ, the ordinands were presented with the Book of the Gospels by the bishop with the admonition, “Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.”
Encouraging vocations
Carmen Garland, mother of 19-year-old diocesan seminarian Luke Garland, brought her two other sons, Jake, 17, and Matt, 15, to the Ordination Mass to show support for the new deacons and the vocation process. Luke Garland is a freshman at St. Joseph Seminary College in St. Benedict, LA.
The St. Mary the Virgin in Arlington and Holy Trinity in Azle parishioner encouraged her boys to attend the St. Andrew Breakfast, Come & See Weekend, Quo Vadis, and other discernment events hosted by the diocese.
“I think parents need to encourage a vocation if a boy is interested,” she said. “Use all the tools the diocese offers so he is able to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ with clarity. I want my sons to do what God wants them to do.”