Hastings Catholic Schools
Southern Nebraska Register
A ceremony was held April 13 to present a chalice and paten to Deacon Isaac Wahlmeier, who is scheduled to be ordained a priest May 24 at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln.
Wahlmeier graduated from St. Cecilia High School in Hastings in 2016, and the chalice and paten were given to him in honor of the late Curt Gleason, a 1974 St. Cecilia graduate. Gleason was a member of the “Chalice Club” in the Fourth Degree of the Knights of Columbus. He died March 29, 2024.
Upon the passing of each Fourth Degree member, a chalice is engraved with the member’s name, and is then presented to his family. The family may then offer it to a priest or to a mission of their choice. Nancy, Curt’s wife, selected Deacon Wahlmeier as the recipient of the chalice and paten. When they are used in Mass, it will be in memory of Curt.
The presentation ceremony included the assertion that “no more appropriate offering could be made to the memory of a Catholic man than the instruments of the Mass – the chalice and the paten.”
The chalice is the vessel used in the Mass in which the wine becomes the Blood of Christ. The paten is the element upon which the consecrated Body of Christ is placed during the Mass.
When the Knights of Columbus was founded in 1882, three principles united its members: charity, unity and fraternity. At that time, people feared that members of the Catholic faith owed their entire allegiance to the Church and could not be trusted as citizens of their country. Patriotism was added to the Order’s principles in 1900, based on the idea that Knights are loyal to both God and country.
Members who wish to live out patriotism together can join the “Fourth Degree.” Members of this degree have the special honor of holding the title “Sir Knight,” participating in color and honor guards and organizing programs that promote Catholic citizenship.
The Fourth Degree also supports priests in many ways. The Chalice Club is one such expression of the members’ appreciation for priestly vocations. There are more than 3,500 Fourth Degree assemblies around the world.
Wahlmeier was ordained a deacon in May 2024 and served at St. Teresa Parish in Lincoln last summer. He is concluding his final academic year at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia. After his ordination to the priesthood, Wahlmeier will celebrate his first Mass at St. Michael Church in Hastings.
