Archbishop Peter Takeo Okada of Tokyo ordained three Jesuits to the priesthood on September 23. The new priests are Fr Aloysius Ōnishi Takao SJ, Fr Joseph Nguyễn Thanh Nhã SJ and Fr John Baptist Phan Ðức Ðịnh SJ.
Fr Aloysius Ōnishi Takao has been studying theology in Paris and was ordained deacon there earlier this year. His parents, who are not Catholic, were at both the diaconate and priestly ordinations of their only son. Fr Ōnishi’s Superior in Paris, Fr Sylvain Cariou-Charton, and a Christian Life Community couple travelled from France for his ordination and his first mass the following day at 10 am. Fr Ōnishi returned to his studies in Paris the very next morning. He has been assigned to specialise in Scriptural studies.
Fr Joseph Nguyễn Thanh Nhã and Fr John Baptist Phan Ðức Ðịnh were missioned from the Vietnam Jesuit Province to Japan in 2009. After language study and Regency, they are now studying theology in Tokyo. Both have been applied members of the Japan Jesuit Province since 2014. Fr Nhã plans to specialise in pedagogy and Fr Dịnh in parish work.
Two Vietnamese bishops, Jesuit Bishop Cosmas Hoàng Văn Ðạt of Bắc Ninh Diocese and Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Do Manh Hung of Hồ Chí Minh Archdiocese, as well as Fr Nhã’s younger brother, a diocesan priest, were among more than 90 concelebrants, many of whom had come from Vietnam for this truly international occasion.
There are many young Catholic Vietnamese in Tokyo, many of whom came for the ordinations. St Ignatius Church was filled to its capacity of 1,000. Much of the music was provided by a Vietnamese choir and ensemble. The Vietnamese community also prepared the abundant food for the reception held in the parish hall of St Ignatius Church after the ordination.
After their first Mass the next day, the three newly ordained priests each bestowed individual blessings on long lines of people in the church garden.
The parents and family of both Vietnamese ordinands spent a whole week in Tokyo with their sons. What was especially impressive was the great sacrifice made by the parents of these three new priests in giving their sons to the service of the Church in Japan, in which Christians are a minority.