An opportunity to share a meal with Tennessee Titans Head Coach Mike Vrabel and his wife Jen or take a 10-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land are just two of the items that will be auctioned at this year’s Seminarian Education Dinner and Auction.
The event, which will be held from 6-9 p.m. Tuesday, May 23, at Holy Family Church in Brentwood, will feature both a silent auction and the popular live auction, which is making a return this year.
The live auction will feature the dinner for eight with the Vrabels and the Holy Land pilgrimage, a $6,000 value donated by 206 Tours of Brentwood. The pilgrimage features: Mass daily; roundtrip airfare from Nashville; a stay in a first-class hotel; breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily; transportation by air-conditioned motor coach; sightseeing and admission fees; and more.
The winning bidder can select any of the company’s Holy Land pilgrimages through the end of 2024.
Other live auction items will include: Bourbon and Burgers with the Bishop; and a vacation stay at a beach house in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
Among the other items included in the auctions will be:
• A barbecue dinner for eight with Father Mark Simpson.
• Pizza and Prayers for eight with the Dominican Sisters.
• Several pieces of art, including a portrait of Pope Francis by world-renowned portrait painter Igor Babailov and a piece by Nashville artist Phil Ponder.
• Vacations at lake houses on Center Hill Lake and Tims Ford Lake.
• A “Third Man in the Booth” package, which includes a jersey, to spend a game with the radio broadcast team of the Nashville Predators.
• Mass and dinner at Chris Casa Santa’s grotto, which was inspired by the famous Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes at the University of Notre Dame.
• A vacation stay at a condo on the beach in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
People can visit dioceseofnashville.com/seda to view all the auction items. People can bid online for the silent auction items and they don’t have to be at the event to bid, Development Director Ashley Linville said.
The online bidding for silent auction items opened at 5 p.m. Sunday, May 21, and will end the night of the event, said Jessica Gravagna, special events coordinator for the Office of Stewardship and Development.
Proceeds from the event benefit the Office of Vocations Seminarian Education Fund, which helps pay for the education and formation of the diocese’s seminarians, which costs an estimated $75,000 a year for each seminarian. This year, the diocese had 21 seminarians in formation.
For people who want to help but are unable to attend the dinner, they can make a donation, Gravagna said.
For more information, visit dioceseofnashville.com/seda or email Linville at ashley.linville@dioceseofnashville.com or Gravagna at jessica.gravagna@dioceseofnashville.com.
