From a grandmother’s lips to God’s ears! Early on, Paulina Macarthy had a hunch about her grandson, Ryan Agbim. When he was 3 years old, she declared, “Ryan is going to be a priest one day.”
Perhaps it was God who first whispered into Macarthy’s ears. Agbim, now 30, formerly of Holy Family Parish in Florham Park, N.J., has since heard — and answered — the Lord’s call. He is preparing to be ordained a priest of the Society of the Divine Word in Chicago, Ill., on May 23, 2026. The seeds of that vocation were first sown in the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey.
Agbim and six other Divine Word Missionaries took their final step toward the priesthood on Oct. 12, when they were ordained to the temporary diaconate at Our Lady of Africa Parish in Chicago. He is now serving at the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii in that city as a deacon. Agbim expects to complete his priestly studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago before his ordination.
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“When I finish assisting or preaching at Mass as a deacon, I’m happy and smiling. It leaves me saying, ‘I could do this forever — but as a priest,” said Agbim, who admitted he is still getting used to being called “Deacon Ryan.”
From 2003 to 2014, Agbim and his family — his mother, Barbara, from England, and his father, Mathias, from Nigeria, both deceased, and his sister, Jessica — attended weekly Mass at Holy Family.
But it wasn’t until college that Agbim first heard God’s call through the questions of others, like “Have you thought of being a priest?” One of them was Bishop Emeritus Arthur J. Serratelli during a pastoral visit to Holy Family.
Initially, Agbim discerned a life with a wife and children. He earned a bachelor’s degree in public health from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., in 2018. But at the end of his sophomore year, he had a life-changing conversation with Father Fred Walters, then Holy Family’s pastor, now retired.
“Father Fred said, ‘As a priest, you could be a spiritual father for your spiritual children — to so many people,'” Agbim said. “That moved me from wanting to be a biological father to being a priest.”
Agbim’s exploration of vocations led him to the Society of the Divine Word. He was impressed by the community’s “missionary spirit.” Divine Word Missionaries work globally in 79 countries to spread the Gospel through service and action.
In 2019, Agbim quit his job as a pharmacy technician to enter Divine Word’s novitiate in Epworth, Iowa. He made his first vows in 2020 and his perpetual vows in 2025. He later moved to Hyde Park, Chicago, for theology studies.
Agbim’s many apostolic experiences have included hospital chaplaincy, migrant ministry, social justice, and prison ministry. He spent two years in Italy, first learning the language and culture in Padua. Then, he served a parish in Trent, focusing on pilgrimages, youth ministry, religious education, and a clothing and food drive.
“The parish welcomed this 6-foot black American and built a relationship with me like Jesus talks about. I cried the day I left,” Agbim said.
Agbim’s first assignment as a priest will be with the Chicago Province, which spans from Nebraska to Massachusetts and from Canada to the Caribbean. Divine Word priests and Father Walters inspire him. “Father Fred was always joyful, smiling, and at peace. I want that for my priesthood,” Agbim said.
Concerning his future vocation, Agbim said, “I feel gratitude, mixed with some fear. But I leave certain decisions in God’s hands. He knows better than I do.”
