St. Francis, Wis. - Twenty-nine-year-old Martí Colom, who speaks fluent English, Spanish and Catalán (a language spoken in northeastern Spain), will be ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland, O.S.B., at 11 a.m., Saturday, May 20, at the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist, 802 N. Jackson St., Milwaukee.

Colom's ordination helps the archdiocese meet a growing need for multi-lingual, especially Spanish-speaking priests, in the 10-county area where the Hispanic Catholic population has grown by 34 percent during the last 10 years and 17 percent in the last five years.

Colom has been appointed to serve as associate pastor at Prince of Peace/Principe de Paz parish, 1138 S. 25th St., beginning June 20. The parish is comprised largely of Hispanic and Asian members.

"I want to contribute to the awareness that the Catholic church is universal," Colom says. "We are not only members of a church in Wisconsin or a church in Mexico or Spain. We are all part of one Catholic church."

Born and raised in Barcelona, Spain, Colom was drawn to priesthood after joining the international Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostle. The community's purpose is to spread a missionary spirit through humanitarian initiatives and by working among those people most in need. In 1992, Archbishop Weakland welcomed the missionary community to the archdiocese. Since then the group established a U.S. center in Racine, Wis.

Missionary members from 11 countries including Spain, Kenya, Colombia, Italy, Ethiopia, Bolivia, Venezuela and England will celebrate Colom's ordination this weekend and will hold an annual meeting in Milwaukee.

Colom's travels took him to Kenya before coming to Milwaukee in 1994. "I quickly realized that even though there may be miles between countries, people are not really that different. We have the same issues, the same problems," Colom says.

In 1999, Fr. Patrick O'Loughlin was ordained to the priesthood. There are currently 19 seminarians in graduate studies and nine seminary undergraduate students preparing for priesthood at Saint Francis Seminary.

Martí Colom Biography

Birth place/date - Barcelona, Spain on May 4, 1971

Colleges/universities
University of Barcelona (1990-94); Degreed in history.
Marquette University (1994); Philosophy studies to meet Saint Francis Seminary's admission requirements.
Saint Francis Seminary (1995 to present) Master of Divinity degree, May 2000

Parish internship - St. Mary's Parish, Elm Grove, Wis.

Deaconate service - St. Richard's Parish, Racine, Wis.

Societal ministry - Taught at the Milwaukee County Jail

Family - Parents and one brother, a sister-in-law and two nieces, all who reside in Barcelona.