Seminarian Cornelius Deep inspires teens to form ‘God Squad’
ABOVE: James Haykal (left) and Thomas D’Onofrio on the set of the Catholic Conversations podcast with Joelle Zarnowski. To watch the podcast, visit YouTube.com/syrdio.
By Tami S. Scott, editor
In 2023-24, Deacon Cornelius Deep spent his pastoral year at St. Vincent de Paul Blessed Sacrament in Binghamton. During that time, he helped revive the faith of many kids he encountered at Seton Catholic Central, where he was assigned to teach and guide the students. Senior Thomas D’Onofrio explained that, before Cornelius arrived, it seemed like his peers’ faith was “nonexistent” or “dying,” and even if kids were believers, they didn’t show it.
“When Cornelius came to Seton, he kind of opened back up that door and people felt like they could start embracing their faith again,” he said.
Cornelius joined the students for lunch, gym class and prayer. In the evenings, he attended their sports games and took on something of a team chaplain role, D’Onofrio said.
Students and faculty recognized the profound impact Cornelius had made in just one school year and they were eager to continue the faith momentum the seminarian had so clearly sparked. When his pastoral assignment came to an end, seniors D’Onofrio and James Haykal, teacher Jan D’Angelo, and a few other students created a club called the God Squad — designed to keep the faith alive and thriving. It consists of three pillars: School Mass, Chapel Events, and Saints for Life.
Providing an example, D’Onofrio said, “So we have a bunch of students who participate in the Mass — setting up, cleaning up, serving. We have about seven servers each time, a lot of readers, and people who just want to participate in these school Masses,” which are celebrated once or twice a month.
“It’s great to see all this involvement from the students, and they want to learn and grow in their faith with God,” he added.
On May 17, God Squad members eagerly piled into a van and drove from Binghamton to Utica to serve in the transitional diaconate Mass for their beloved seminarian.
“He’s such a faithful and prayerful person,” D’Onofrio said, when asked what it is about Cornelius that resonates with the students. “I think it has to stem first from just his devotion and his faithfulness to God. Second, I think it has to do with his personality. Everyone in our school just clicks with him. Everyone can just go up and talk with him and have a great conversation with him.”
And speaking as one of the 12 youth who served at the transitional diaconate Mass, it’s clear that D’Onofrio connects with Cornelius: “I really just wanted to serve for him more, kind of like as a gratitude for what he’s done for us in our area — you know, help him on his career becoming a priest.”
