Sunday, May 24, was a day of special celebration at the Sedes Sapientiae Ecclesiastical College, since on that date, under the special protection of Our Lady, Help of Christians, three seminarians were ordained as deacons: Carlos Armando Galdámezof the Archdiocese of San Salvador (El Salvador); Michael Kanwagale Lusatofrom the diocese of Bunda (Tanzania); and Kingsley Ebuka Omenyiof the Archdiocese of Onitsha (Nigeria). Three new deacons at the CEI Sedes Sapientiae in Rome.
Due to the pandemicThe new deacons could not be accompanied by any family members or friends who had come from other countries, nor by many other people they know in Rome and in the places in Italy where they have collaborated in pastoral work.
Those attending the ceremony were his fellow seminarians, with whom he has been confined for two and a half months. However, their families and friends have expressed their closeness through numerous videos in which they expressed their joy and assured them of their prayers.
Michael Kanwagale Lusatoof the diocese of Bunda (Tanzania); Kingsley Ebuka Omenyiof the Archdiocese of Onitsha (Nigeria), and Carlos Armando GaldámezThe three seminarians, from the Archdiocese of San Salvador, were ordained to the priesthood at the Sedes Sapientiae Ecclesiastical College on Sunday, May 24. The three have received an integral and complete formation at Sedes Sapientiae and at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.
Likewise, the three new deacons have felt that they are very much supported by the Church thanks to the presence of the celebrating Archbishop, H.E. Msgr. Jorge Carlos Patrón WongSecretary for Seminaries of the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy.
In his homily during the celebration of the Holy Mass with the rite of ordination to the diaconate, he invited all those present and, in particular, the ordinands, to recall that the priestly vocation is for the service of the Lord and the brethren.
He also urged that the formation received in the seminary years be considered a valuable treasure, a formation that every priest must continue to nurture throughout his life: "I often say," he said with a smile, "that the formation received in the seminary is a precious treasure. to be a good priest you have to be a good deacon, and to be a good deacon you have to be a good seminarian. Please, what you have learned in the seminary, continue to practice as deacons; and when you become priests, continue always to be deacons, that is, servants. And so on throughout your life.
He also encouraged the new deacons to seek holiness in the exercise of their diaconal and later priestly ministry. Not a holiness, so to speak, spectacular or showy, but that discreet and daily holiness, "from next door," as Pope Francis describes it. in his apostolic exhortation Gaudete et exultate.
After having referred to the commitment to celibacy, as a gift of grace and a requirement of life to give oneself totally to Jesus in the Church as servants of God's people, he concluded by speaking of Our Mother's example of humility and service: "With Mary, always with Mary, praise the Lord. May the words of the Magnificat become a reality every day in your life as deacons and later as priests".
Kingsley Ebuka Omenyi is thirty years old and was born in Onitsha, Nigeria, into a large family of four brothers and three sisters. His parents are Catholic and his family's life was steeped in faith.
Kingsley Ebuka Omenyi is thirty years old, was born in Onitsha, China. (Nigeria), She grew up in a large family of four brothers and three sisters. His parents are Catholic and his family's life was steeped in faith. When he discovered his vocation and wanted to enter the seminary, his family supported him, even though it meant considerable sacrifices. He has studied three years of Theology in Rome and is now in the first year of a licentiate in Canon Law. Here his tstimonium for CARF. Congratulations to the three new deacons of CEI Sedes Sapientiae.
