On Dec. 12, 2012, Mark Thelen of Ann Arbor was ordained as a priest for the Legion of Christ by Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, C.S., the papal delegate for the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi. The ordination took place at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome.

Father Mark is the son of  Brian and Mary Ann Thelen, and the oldest of five. He is a graduate of Father Gabriel Richard High School and the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome. He and his family are members of St. Thomas Parish, Ann Arbor.

The Legion of Christ, a religious congregation of the Catholic Church, is present in 22 countries. Its members include three bishops, 920 priests and more than 2,000 religious, novices and students in its apostolic schools, as of December 2011.

Father Mark says, “I know I have barely even begun to walk his way, God’s way. I might still be in Rome, still studying, and my work still mainly involves an office, but that ‘Follow me’ echoes louder than ever.”