Malaysian Jesuit ordained priest in Sabah

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Barely two weeks after a new Jesuit priest was ordained in Singapore, the Malaysia-Singapore Jesuit Region marked another red letter day on September 1 as Leslie Joseph Bingkasan SJ was ordained priest in St Catherine’s Church, Inanam, Sabah, Malaysia.

Archbishop John Wong of Kota Kinabalu Diocese presided at the ordination Mass with 18 concelebrants, including eight Jesuits. Some 500 people, including Fr Bingkasan’s family, relatives and friends witnessed the occasion.

A new Jesuit priest in Singapore

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The Jesuits in Singapore-Malaysia celebrated the ordination of Fr Jerome Leon SJ on August 19 in the Church of St Ignatius in Singapore. Archbishop William Goh celebrated the Mass and presided over the ceremonies. He reminded the new priest to “depend on the Lord” in his priestly ministries, saying, “in your imperfections and inadequacy, this is where people will see the glory of God”.

Fr Leon entered the Society of Jesus in 2007 at the age of 40. “I am what you might call a late vocation,” he said, “but I am also a ‘young’ Catholic, as I was baptised only in 2004.”

Six Jesuits ordained priests in Indonesia

The Society of Jesus welcomed six new priests from the Indonesia Province with the ordination of Fathers Antonius Dhimas Hardjuna SJ, Ferdinandus Tuhu Jati Setya Adi SJ, Gerardus Hadian Panamokta SJ, Stephanus Advent Novianto SJ, Thomas Septi Widhiyudana SJ and Thomas Surya Awangga Budiono SJ.

Rowing into the deep

General Congregation 36 (GC 36) dominated Jesuit life during 2016.  The theme, “Row into the deep”, was derived from a message of Pope Francis to the Society of Jesus in 2014, echoing Jesus’ call to his disciples to “put out into the deep”.  In the Congregation logo, the IHS represents the Society’s boat in the Church; the waves are the troubled seas of our times into which Jesuits are invited to row with faith.

Final vows and diaconate ordination in Vietnam

The Vietnam Jesuit Province recently celebrated the profession of final vows of Br Vincent Phạm Đức Tuấn SJ and the ordination to the diaconate of four Jesuits.

Br Vincent pronounced his final vows on January 18 in the chapel of Saint Joseph Jesuit Scholasticate in Saigon, Vietnam. He entered the Society of Jesus on September 9, 1997 and will be celebrating his 20th year as a Jesuit this year. At the end of the ceremony, Br Vincent asked those present to pray for him. “Pray that God grant me a lot of love and grace to live my vocation as a Jesuit filled with happiness.”