ATLANTA—Forty-four Legion of Christ seminarians were ordained priests in the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome, Italy, in December. Six have ties to Atlanta, including a man who performed as Buzz, the mascot of Georgia Tech.

Father Andrew Dalton, 31, graduated in 1999 from Lassiter High School in Marietta, as valedictorian, National Honor Society president and Robert C. Byrd Scholar, among other honors.

He became interested in the religious order as a sophomore at Georgia Tech, where he played Buzz, the college mascot. He entered the Legionaries’ novitiate in 2001 in Cheshire, Conn., and studied there and in Rome, where he received a philosophy degree in 2006. He spent three years in apostolic work with youth in Washington, D.C., and France, before studying for a theology degree, which he received in 2012. Since his ordination, he remains in Rome, studying biblical theology.

Father Ronald Conklin, 32, who was born in Ypsilanti, Mich., is living in Center Harbor, N.H., where he is dean of students at Immaculate Conception Apostolic School. He received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy at the order’s seminary in Thornwood, N.Y., and the theology degree in Rome. His parents live in Atlanta and run the Kids for Jesus program.

Two brothers in the Huynh family were ordained. Father Jason Huynh, 30, was the second of Hung and Mythi Huynh’s three children. He attended Pinecrest Academy in Cumming before entering the Legion of Christ novitiate in 1999. He is currently working as vice-rector of Sacred Heart Apostolic School in Indiana. Father Peter Huynh, 31, is the oldest son and entered the novitiate in 1998. He currently serves as a youth minister in Philadelphia. Both brothers received their theology degrees in Rome in 2012. Their father is a permanent deacon in the Atlanta Archdiocese and their brother, John, works in the archdiocesan Office of Formation and Discipleship.

Father Jeremy Lambert, 29, was raised in Thomaston. He entered the novitiate in 2001 in Cheshire, Conn., and has studied philosophy and theology in Rome, while assisting in the secretariat of the general director of the Legionaries of Christ. He is currently assigned as personal assistant to the religious order’s general director in Rome. His parents live in Marietta.

Father Juan Hernández, 37, moved after high school to Atlanta to study engineering at Georgia Tech. He entered the novitiate in 2001 in Cheshire, Conn., and has been heavily involved with the direction of the Regnum Christi Mission Corps in the United States. He is currently the young men’s section director in Atlanta. Father Hernández is the first Legionary priest from Puerto Rico.