The Australian Jesuits are blessed to have a new priest. Ramesh Richards SJ was ordained to the priesthood at St Mary’s North Sydney on 8 August, the feast day of St Mary MacKillop, Australia’s first saint.
Bishop Michael McKenna of the Diocese of Bathurst presided at the ceremony. He remarked on how “Ramesh has grown beautifully in his years of formation with the Jesuits.” The Bishop first met Fr Richards 15 years ago when the latter was still studying architecture at the University of Melbourne and discerning to become a Jesuit. “I pray that Ramesh will grow in the depth of his understanding of what it means to be a priest and to accept God’s grace in trying to live that out,” said Bishop McKenna. Like the prophets who trusted in the call and in the power of the one who gives the call, he urged the new priest to work hard and plan intelligently, but understand that the real work is done through him by God.
In his thanksgiving speech Fr Richards acknowledged the First Nations of Australia and around the world “who have shared this land with us”. He expressed hope to “do justice in caring for this common land we call home”. He also thanked his family, friends, and Jesuit companions for their love, friendship, and guidance.
Traditionally, the cloth used to wipe the excess chrism oil after the bishop anoints a new priest’s hand is presented to the priest’s mother. However, because Fr Richards’ parents could not make it to his ordination, he chose for the meantime to lay the cloth at Mary’s feet in the church’s shrine of Our Lady of the Way, and to dedicate his priesthood to the protection of our Blessed Mother.
Fr Richards was born in Malaysia, and moved to Australia in 2005 for university studies. He joined the Jesuits in 2010, spent time as a Regent at the Cardoner Project and in Jesuit schools, and went to the United States to study theology at Boston College.
His ministry with young people has shown him a glimpse of what the future of the Church looks like. In an interview with the Australian Jesuits shortly before his ordination, he shared that young people who are disillusioned by the Church are in some ways disillusioned by the language of the Church. “If we show them what Church looks like, what community looks like, and how faith life is lived concretely, they want to be part of this,” he said.
He encourages young men pondering a call to Jesuit life to reach out to them. “If you decide to join me and my brothers on this journey of faith and service as a Jesuit and possibly a priest, I encourage you make contact with one of us,” he said towards the end of his thanksgiving speech. “It is a leap but I can assure you it is life giving, too. It has its challenges but the Church is here to support you in your vocation.”
