Former Meridian sportscaster Nick Adam ordained as Catholic priest
A former sportscaster from Meridian will preside over his first Mass as an ordained priest at St. Patrick Catholic Church this weekend.
Nick Adam, who was ordained to the priesthood Thursday night in Jackson, came to Meridian in 2008 to work at WTOK. It was while working at the television station, Adam, then 21, said he felt the call to explore the promise to become a Catholic priest.
Nick Adam will celebrate all four Masses in Meridian this weekend:
5 p.m. Saturday at St. Patrick
8:30 a.m. Sunday at St. Joseph and 11 a.m. at St. Patrick; 3 p.m. Spanish Mass at St. Joseph.
In an interview last year, Adam said that after nearly five years of working as a sports reporter, he began to seriously consider a career change – even though he loved his job.
There were three major groups he said influenced his decision – the people of the parish; pastor Rev. Frank Cosgrove, who is now retired; and John Johnson, his boss at WTOK.
Since then, Adam has spent the last year dividing his time between St. Richard parish in Jackson and Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans.
Rev. Jose Sanchez, parochial vicar at St. Patrick, and a friend of Adam’s, was at the ordination ceremony at Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson Thursday night. He spoke highly of Adam saying he left everything behind to follow this call.
“He has so much to offer the church – he loves the church and the people, and will make an excellent priest,” Sanchez said. “In my opinion, he has proved to be a really humble respected person. He is a wonderful example of what Jesus said, ‘Whoever wants to follow me let him deny himself.’ ”
Sanchez described Adam as a great guy who can interact with all kinds of people, not just Catholics. But what he likes most about Adam – his big smile.
“At the ordination, he had such a big smile with such joy on his face,” Sanchez said. “I think when he smiles it draws people to him. He is always happy and makes people feel comfortable connecting with him.
“Nick has so much to offer as a priest and as long as he stays with the Lord he will be an excellent person to shepherd God’s people.”
Adam has been assigned to be associate pastor at St. Richard Church in Jackson.
He could not be reached for comment on Friday.
In addition to Adam, Aaron Williams was ordained on Thursday evening. He served as a deacon at St. Patrick and St. Joseph over the past year.