Praying in union with the Church and people of goodwill for Pope Francis, who passed away just one day before, 16 Jesuit scholastics studying in Rome were ordained deacons on Tuesday within the Octave of Easter, 22 April, at the Church of the Gesù. The Mass was presided over by Monsignor Antuan Ilgit SJ, Bishop of Tubernuca and Apostolic Administrator of the Apostolic Vicariate of Anatolia, Turkey.
Alongside the Bishop, Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda SJ, Fr General Arturo Sosa Abascal SJ, Fr Johan Verschueren, Father General’s Delegate for the Interprovincial Roman Houses and Works (DIR), and over 150 priests concelebrated the Mass. Support and prayer also poured in from over 500 people who attended the Ordination Mass and from those who followed the ceremonies online.
The newly ordained deacons are part of the Jesuit communities of Collegio Internazionale del Gesù and Collegio Bellarmino and represent 14 different provinces across 13 countries, including Croatia, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Brazil, India, Ethiopia, Hungary, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. Out of those 16, four are members of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific, including Deacons Joachim Anthony Tin Aung Lwin SJ from Myanmar, Peter Vu Trung Hung SJ from Vietnam, and Leo Perkasa Tanjung SJ from Indonesia.
In his homily, Bishop Antuan reminded the ordinands that even if the diaconate is a period of transition, because soon they will be ordained priests, their life must always be held by the dimension of service, fully dedicated to Christ, who did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for all. Indeed, the ordinands had chosen as the motto of their ordination the passage from Luke where Jesus said to his disciples: “I am among you as one who serves” (Lc 22,27).
“Do not forget, dear companions, that even when you become priests or perhaps even bishops without ever trying to become one, always remain deacons, always remain servants,” emphasised Bishop Antuan.
Moreover, realising the international and multicultural provenience of the ordinands who that day were all together but tomorrow will surely be scattered for the mission, the Bishop encouraged the men to always embrace the spirit of being one body united with Christ and in Christ. Without it, a Jesuit loses his identity and his ability to bear witness to the Gospel. Recalling Ignatius and the first companions who had lived this spirit, Bishop Antuan said: “Never forget to be companions, to be friends with the Lord.”
This calling to be His companions is the principle and foundation by which one, after experiencing being called “by name” in God’s recognition of “the personal face of each one,” could answer out of love of the Lord to be His servant for His Church and others.
