In the hot afternoon of 21 June, St Ignatius Chapel at Wah Yan College in Kowloon, Hong Kong, welcomed a continuous stream of people. Deacon Nguyen Dinh Minh-Tri was being ordained to the presbyterate. The nearly 500 guests who attended the liturgy all wore joyful expressions, including Minh-Tri’s family and relatives in traditional Vietnamese attire, his brother Jesuits, teachers, classmates, and faithful from various places.

The ordination Mass was presided over by Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan, Bishop of the Diocese of Hong Kong, who had just returned to Hong Kong early that morning from an ad limina visit to Rome. Fr Xavier, Superior of the Hong Kong Jesuit community, and Fr Robert Ng assisted with the liturgy, while nearly 50 priests from both home and abroad concelebrated.

Although the liturgy was primarily in Cantonese, the Liturgy of the Word and the Mass songs were interspersed with English, Mandarin, and Vietnamese, allowing guests from near and far to fully participate. Notably, Deacon Minh-Tri’s younger sister read the First Reading in English and chanted the verses of the Responsorial Psalm and the Communion song in Vietnamese, while the choir and the congregation sang the responses and chorus in Mandarin. Such thoughtful arrangements by the liturgical team left a profound impression on the congregation.

Nguyen Dinh Minh-Tri SJ with his family

In his homily, Cardinal Chow reminded the new priest that in fulfilling the roles of “teacher, priest, and pastor,” he must avoid the bad habit of “clericalism”. Instead, he should remember that a priest is a co-worker of the bishop, sent to serve the Church and God’s people. Furthermore, Cardinal Chow urged the new priest that when “teaching,” he must know how to listen; when carrying out the task of “sanctifying” in Christ, he should unite himself with Christ’s sacrifice, and when administering the sacraments, prioritise Christ’s mission; when “governing” the flock, he should imitate the merciful Good Shepherd, uniting God’s people to journey together toward the Father in the Holy Spirit.

Cardinal Chow also specifically reminded the faithful present that while respecting the clergy is important, they should not spoil them. At the same time, he exhorted the new priest to match his words with his actions, to have the courage to repent after making mistakes, to die to sin, and to live in Christ. Towards the end of the homily, Cardinal Chow cited the eight-character motto frequently quoted by the late Irish Jesuit Fr Michael Brosnan SJ, who had served at Wah Yan College: “Not to be served, but to serve” (非以役人，乃役於人). He encouraged the new priest to imitate the Good Shepherd’s spirit of “sacrificing oneself and serving others,” humbly serving the Church and God’s flock.

Following the Laying on of Hands, Deacon Minh-Tri’s mother and Fr Xavier vested him with the priestly chasuble. The guests in attendance broke into enthusiastic applause, lifting the liturgy’s atmosphere to its peak. Subsequently, Fr Minh-Tri concelebrated the Liturgy of the Eucharist with Cardinal Chow and the assisting priests and distributed the Body of Christ to his family, relatives, and the faithful.

Before the concluding rites, Fr Xavier delivered a speech on behalf of the Chinese Province. He welcomed and thanked the guests present and all who served in the liturgy, saying it was a historic event for both the Jesuit Chinese Province and the new priest: Minh-Tri is the first Vietnamese Jesuit priest who knows Cantonese and Mandarin and who received his formation, as well as his diaconate and priestly ordinations in Hong Kong.

God elevated Fr Minh-Tri with grace, making him a priest of Christ. While congratulating and blessing him, Fr Xavier also called on the faithful to continue to care for, support, remind, and accompany him in the days ahead, and not to spoil this highly popular new priest so that he may become an ever-better faithful servant of Christ.

When it was Fr Minh-Tri’s turn to speak, the chapel was filled with laughter and applause. In addition to offering his sincere thanks to all the guests in four languages, the new priest quoted the opening chapter of Xue Er from the Analects of Confucius: “Is it not a pleasure, having learned something, to try it out at due intervals? Is it not a joy to have friends come from afar? Is it not gentlemanly not to take offence when others fail to appreciate your abilities?” He used this to express his feelings and experiences regarding learning, friendship, and facing challenges on his vocatio journey and in new environments.

Fr Minh-Tri especially thanked his mother for constantly praying for him and encouraging him to pursue happiness. He also shared his hope to trust in God just as his mother does, treat others with kindness, and move forward with strength amidst suffering.

At the end of his speech, the new priest sang a cappella a segment of a Vietnamese song”: “God’s boundless grace pours down abundantly, yet my hands are too small to hold it all.” He offered profound thanksgiving for God’s overflowing grace.

May God, who generously bestows grace, continue to watch over this radiant and smiling new priest, enabling him to open his hands to receive God’s overflowing merciful love in the days ahead, to humbly become a dispenser of God’s grace, and to love and serve in all things, for the greater glory of God and the benefit of all.

Photos taken by the Hong Kong Catholic Photography Group