On June 15, Australian Jesuits Kieran Gill and Andy Nguyen were ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Gregory O’Kelly SJ, during a well-attended ceremony at St Ignatius’ Church in Richmond, Victoria.
The ordinands’ families as well as their Superior at Boston College, Fr Michael Boughton SJ, were present for the ordination.
Bishop O’Kelly spoke about the priesthood that all the baptised share by virtue of being members of Christ’s body. “All the baptised share the priestly office of Christ,” he said in his homily.
Within this priesthood of all the faithful there are those like Fr Gill and Fr Nguyen who have been called to ordained ministry. Their role is to strengthen the laity in their roles as priest, prophet and king.
“By their applause, the people of God endorsed your calling to priesthood, Andy and Kieran”, said Bishop O’Kelly.
“The people of God rejoice for you, and esteem you, for your preparedness to undertake this step, of having hearts large enough to respond to this call from a Church blighted with acts of corruption, where the image of priesthood is blighted, and such sadness has beset the souls of the faithful. For your courage, thank you”, he told the newly ordained.
The Bishop reminded Fr Gill and Fr Nguyen of what General Congregation 34 said about the vocation of the Jesuit priest being “particularly directed towards those who have not heard the Gospel, those who are at the margins of the Church or of society, the voiceless and the powerless, those weak in faith or alienated from it, those whose values are undermined by contemporary culture, and those whose needs are greater than they can bear”.
As ordained priests, he said, they are called “to remind the Church and the faithful of the presence of Jesus in our midst” through their prayerfulness, and the witness of their lives and how they minister.
Pope Francis in his message in the Chrism Mass in 2018 said that people appreciate the priest who “walks amongst them with a closeness and tenderness of a good shepherd… something they only feel in the presence of Jesus.”
“This is not clericalism”, said Bishop O’Kelly, but “a reminder and statement about the call to holiness that is integral to our vocation, to help others sense the presence of Jesus in their daily lives”.
Along these lines, he recalled the words of the Servant of God Fr Pedro Arrupe SJ: “Come if serving Christ is at the very centre of your life. Come if you have an open heart an open spirit, a reasonably open mind, and a heart larger than the world.”
“To be and live this vocation demands hearts that are pure”, said Bishop O’Kelly. “For this we pray, and ask for prayers of all whom we serve.”
At the end of the Mass, Fr Gill spoke to thank all those who have contributed to his and Fr Nguyen’s lives of faith through their love, care and friendship.
Read Bishop Gregory O’Kelly’s homily here.
Watch the entire ordination Mass here.