Three monks from Saint Vincent Archabbey will be ordained to the priesthood and diaconate Saturday, May 26 in the Archabbey Basilica. Brother Romuald Duchene, O.S.B., of St. Paul, Minnesota, will be ordained to the priesthood. Brother Gilbert Heater, O.S.B., of East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, and Brother Romanus Davitt, O.S.B., of Anniston, Alabama, will be ordained to the diaconate.
Brother Romuald Duchene, O.S.B., attended Saint Anthony Middle School and Saint Anthony Village High School, graduating in 1998. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, in 2002, and a Master of Arts degree in systematic theology from Saint Vincent Seminary in 2021, summa cum laude. In 2024, Brother Romuald earned the Master of Divinity degree, summa cum laude, and the Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree, summa cum laude, in affiliation with the Pontifical University of Sant’ Anselmo in Rome.
After spending a year in the novitiate at Saint Vincent Archabbey, he professed simple vows on July 9, 2010. He renewed his vows as a junior monk in 2011 and 2012, and again in 2022. Brother Romuald made solemn vows on July 11, 2023 and was ordained a deacon by Bishop Larry J. Kulick of the Diocese of Greensburg on August 12, 2023.
His assignments at the Archabbey have included assistant archivist (2010-2011), assistant to the director of facilities management (2010-2013), consultant on the monastery roof project and the mausoleum project (2011-2013) and assistant to the director, Institute for Ministry Formation (2021-present).
From 2018-2020 he was second vice local chairman of the Grand Forks, North Dakota Chapter of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. He is also a member of the Knights of Columbus and is a PADI master diver.
Brother Romuald is the son of Patti Gentz of Minneapolis and the late William Duchene. He is one of three children. His brother Benjamin is from Anoka, Minnesota. His sister Debra is deceased.
Brother Gilbert (Kagan) Heater, O.S.B., studied at Lancaster Bible College, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in music composition in 2009. He also studied at Liberty University. He received the Master of Arts in Catholic Philosophical Studies degree, summa cum laude, from Saint Vincent Seminary in 2021.
He entered the Benedictine monastic community of Saint Vincent Archabbey as a novice on July 1, 2017. He professed simple vows on July 10, 2018, and two months later began studies at Saint Vincent Seminary. He made solemn profession of monastic vows on July 11, 2021.
At the Archabbey, he has served as socius of novices and postulants (2018-present), sacristan and assistant master of ceremonies (2018-present) for the monastic community. In 2021 he was named assistant in the monastery vocation office.
He is the son of Richard W. and Diane O. Heater of East Stroudsburg. He has three brothers, Nathaniel, Jered and Zephan.
Brother Romanus (Brendan) Davitt, O.S.B., is from Anniston, Alabama. He attended Pleasant Valley High School in Jacksonville, Alabama.
He studied at Wallace State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Belmont Abbey College in 2020.
He began studies at Saint Vincent Seminary in 2021 as a monk from Saint Bernard Abbey, Cullman, Alabama. At Saint Bernard, he made simple profession of vows on August 15, 2017, and solemn profession on August 6, 2020. In 2023, he transferred his vows to Saint Vincent Archabbey.
Before entering religious life, Brother Romanus served in the U.S. Army from January 1995 to August of 1997, worked as a board-certified drug and alcohol addiction counselor from 2010 to 2014 and was an automotive production supervisor from 2014 to 2016.
In addition to his seminary studies, he is an assistant in the summer retreat program at the Archabbey.
He is the son of the late Lawrence Davitt and the late Pamela Jean Clements-Chaney. He has a sister, Anne Davitt Harvey of Jacksonville, Alabama.