“What are you looking for?” This question of the Risen Christ to Mary Magdalene could well apply to the 13 scholastics from various parts of the world sent to Rome for their Jesuit formation. After almost two decades of searching for Christ and following Him, they pronounced an audacious “Ecco Mi” (Here I am) to be a “diákonos” (servant) of God, the Church, and society.
On 19 April, in the heart of Rome, inside the Church of the Gesù, the first baroque-style church in the world, where the bodies of St Ignatius of Loyola, the former Jesuit Generals, and the right hand of St Francis Xavier are buried and preserved, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, ordained the men in the presence of Fr General Arturo Sosa SJ, Fr Johan Verschueren SJ, the Delegate for Interprovincial Houses and Works, and 70 priests both Jesuits and non-Jesuits.
Cardinal Tagle is the first Asian bishop to ordain scholastics from the Collegio Internazionale Del Gesù, which was started in 1968 by Fr Pedro Arrupe SJ. In his homily, the cardinal edified, inspired, and challenged the new deacons to “always turn to Jesus and never turn away the poor”. In announcing the Gospel of Christ, “doing so always for God’s greater glory,” he said, “the Church turns to you, the Society of Jesus turns to you, and the poor turns to you.”
Among the 13 newly ordained deacons, all of them studying at the Pontifical Gregorian University, three hail from the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific. Deacon Daeki Andrew Hwang SJ from the Korean Province, Deacon PV Joseph Cin Hau Mang Buan Sing SJ from the Myanmar Region, and Deacon Nguyen Anh Huy SJ from the Vietnamese Province.
Daeki, 38, was born in Incheon, South Korea. He had been a diocesan seminarian and had completed philosophical and theological studies when he entered the Society of Jesus in 2014. The missionary spirit of the Jesuits and Ignatian Spirituality attracted him to join the Band of Loyola, and serve God and humanity without counting the cost. Before coming to Rome, he was administrator and supervisor of Sogang University in Seoul, and youth minister in the Cambodia Jesuit Mission. Currently, he is pursuing his licentiate at the Pontifical Biblical Institute.
Huy, 34, was born in Lam Dong, Vietnam, and studied pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City University of Health Sciences. He joined the Jesuits in 2012, and after philosophical studies at St Joseph Jesuit Scholasticate, was sent to Ha Noi, northern Vietnam for two years of Regency in Ngoc Mach parish. During those years, he utilised his musical talents as a singer, composer, and pianist to train the parish choir, teach music to the children, and impart Ignatian prayer and catechism to the faithful. He used to direct the Spiritual Exercises for students and youth in the summer, and will soon be publishing a book on the Spiritual Exercises in Vietnamese for young people. For him, his formation based on the experiences of St Ignatius of Loyola, and the inner freedom brought about by discernment in the Jesuit Way of Proceeding make him a happy Jesuit, loving and serving God in all things.
PV Joseph, 35, was born in Kalay, Myanmar. Although schooled by the Salesians, the diocesans and the Montfortian Brothers, and was a parishioner of the Franciscans and the Holy Cross parishes in India, he chose to join the Jesuit Order in 2007. For 10 years, he was in several Jesuit formation houses and colleges in India, undergoing Pre-novitiate, Novitiate, and Juniorate formation, and then pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Social Work, as well as a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Philosophy. During his studies, he was sent to work among the Magis youth and the All India Catholic University Federation, while also ministering to young people in the slums, migrants, and homeless. In 2017, he was sent to Myanmar for Regency. For two years, he taught philosophy and English at St Aloysius Gonzaga College, Taunggyi, and Campion Institute, Yangon. During those years, he was also assigned to accompany young people and students of Jesuit schools in their search for God and meaning in life. Along with other Myanmar Jesuits, he played a vital role in founding Magis Myanmar, helping form and transform the youth to be “persons of God and for others”, Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam.
