Ed and Rosemary McGinnis, members of St. Columba Parish in Ottawa, present a ciborium to Deacon Danny McShane as his summer internship comes to an end. With them is the McGinnis’ 3-year-old grandson, Paxton. (Provided photo)

OTTAWA — Deacon Danny McShane took away more than pastoral experience and fond memories from his summer assignment with the Ottawa Catholic Community.

He received a ciborium from Rosemary McGinnis, a longtime member of St. Columba Parish. It had been given to her in memory of her uncle, Sir Knight Andrew Massieon, a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She said the idea is to pass it along to a priest or someone who is preparing for ordination.

“We liked him. He seemed like a nice young man,” Mrs. McGinnis said of Deacon McShane. “Getting to know him through the Masses, I was impressed with him.”

For his part, Deacon McShane said the gift makes his anticipated ordination to the priesthood next May “a little more real.”

“It’s the first time I’ve ever received something like that as a gift,” he said. “It was definitely special.”

A ciborium is the sacred vessel used to contain the consecrated hosts for Mass. It is usually stored in the tabernacle.

Deacon McShane said his parents, Diane and John McShane of Lincoln, are visiting him at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, over fall break and they will start looking at chalices then.

“That’s how we’re going to spend my last fall break here from the seminary. It’s going to be kind of special,” he said.

While he’s immersed in his studies again, Deacon McShane said he loved his time in Ottawa.

“One thing I learned is that people are really faithful and they’re hungering for good and holy priests, and they deserve it,” he said.

He added that he appreciated what Father David Kipfer, pastor of St. Columba, St. Francis and St. Patrick in Ottawa, taught him about what it means to be “a shepherd and a priest” and the opportunities he provided so Deacon McShane could gain experience in ministry.