Eleven Jesuits were ordained to the Order of Deacons on October 29 in the Church of the Gesu, Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines.  The new deacons are Soo Young Park, Changmo Cho, Chang-hyon Lee, Kyoung-Woong Peter Park, Anthony Ochen, Leslie Joseph Bingkasan, Stephanus Advent Novianto, Harvey Mateo, Martin Licup, Felipe Yohan Jr and Roseller Atilano Jr.

In his homily, Bishop Ruperto C Santos DD told the newly-ordained, “This is what diaconate is all about. A servant: that is who a deacon is, plain and simple.”  He urged them to be brave in the face of challenging situations, to bring Jesus and Mary with them in their ministry and to remain in the background – active yet unseen – knowing that it is Jesus who is seen and heard through them.

“After the congratulations and the jubilation will come your crown of thorns. In the aftermath of the rejoicing and praises will appear your way of the cross. When the last of the greetings and best wishes fade away, the call to action will ring in loud and clear,” he said

Speaking on behalf of the new deacons, Advent Novianto asked everyone gathered in the church to pray for them and hold them fast to their role as servants of the Lord. “Pray for us, the new deacons, but most of all, remind and challenge us to be humble servants of God and His people,” he said.

All the new deacons are now completing their theology studies in the Loyola School of Theology, Ateneo de Manila University, and except for the Filipinos, live in Arrupe International Residence.  They range in age from 31 to 46, hail from five countries and come from very different academic backgrounds.

Main image: The newly ordained deacons flanked in the back row by Deacon Francisco Xavier Beltran Aceves SX, a Xavierian missionary from Mexico, and Deacon Martin Kamau SJ from Kenya, with Bishop Ruperto C Santos DD.

Front Row (left to right):

• Leslie Joseph Bingkasan, 39, is from Malaysia. He has a BA in Philosophy from Driyarkara School of Philosophy, Indonesia.
• Anthony Ochen, 32, is from Uganda. He studied Social and Philosophical Studies at Makerere University, Uganda.
• Felipe Yohan Jr, 46, is from the Philippines. He has a BS in Architecture from Mapua Institute of Technology, Philippines.
• Roseller Atilano Jr, 36, is from the Philippines. He has a BS in Accountancy from Ateneo de Zamboanga University, Philippines.
• Changmo Cho, 38, is from Korea. He studied Russian Language and Literature at Kyungpook National University, Korea.
• Stephanus Advent Novianto, 31, is from Indonesia. He studied Philosophy at Sekola Tinggi Filsafat, Driyarkara, Indonesia.

Back Row (Left to right)

• Harvey Chan Mateo, 42, is from the Philippines. He has a BS in Psychology and Doctor of Medicine from the University of the Philippines.
• Kyoung-Woong Peter Park, 38, is from Korea. He has a BA in Philosophy and Korean Literature and MA in Korean Literature from Sogang University.
• Chang-hyon Lee, 39, is from Korea. He studied Communication at Sogang University, Korea.
• Martin Licup, 40, is from the Philippines. He has an AB in Organizational Communication from De La Salle University, Philippines.
• Soo Young Park, 35, is from Korea. He studied Political Science and Diplomacy at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Korea.