Two seminarians of the Archdiocese of New York, Jack Emery Kristensen and Ian Paul Christopher Mendoza, were among 18 men from the Pontifical North American College ordained to the transitional diaconate Oct. 1 at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minn., was the ordaining prelate at the Mass of Ordination, celebrated at the Altar of the Chair of St. Peter. Among the new deacons was Ryan Allen Saltness, a seminarian of Bishop Barron’s own diocese.

The transitional diaconate is the final step before ordination to the priesthood.

Bishop Barron, a theologian, educator, author, and speaker, is the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, which reaches millions of people through digital and traditional media. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago on May 24, 1986, and was consecrated an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles on Sept. 8, 2015. He was installed as bishop of Winona-Rochester on June 2, 2022.

Founded in 1859 by Blessed Pope Pius IX, the Pontifical North American College serves as the American seminary in Rome and has formed more than 5,000 priests for dioceses in the United States, Canada, and Australia.