As befitting a diocese known as the Diocese of Immigrants, the ordination of new priests at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Prospect Heights on Saturday, June 1, was an international celebration centered on three men from such faraway places as Brazil, Colombia, and Nigeria and one man who is Vietnamese American.
New lives as Catholic priests in the Diocese of Brooklyn await three men set to be ordained Saturday, June 4 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph.
As I wait to be ordained a priest of Jesus Christ in two weeks, I cannot help but feel in awe of how the Lord is preparing me to receive the grace of being ordained.
Four new priests for the Diocese of Brooklyn: Fathers Dragan Pušić, 54; Néstor Martínez, 35; Peter Okajima, 59; and Gabriel Agudelo-Perdomo, 58.
On International Women’s Day, March 8, 11 women and men gathered across the street from the United Nations to stand for equal rights — and rites — in the Catholic Church.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, ordained six men as transitional deacons at St. Joseph Seminary in the Dunwoodie section of Yonkers on Nov. 9, including two who are studying to become priests for the Diocese of Brooklyn — Nestor Armando Martinez Barajas and Dragan Pusic.
The new priests are Father Michael F. Falce, Pedro Angucho Lopez, JohnPaul Obiaeri and Edwin A. Ortiz. During the two-hour liturgy in front of a full church, the four men pledged obedience to the Bishop and his successors as they proclaimed that they were ready to serve the people of Brooklyn and Queens.
As I recently celebrated the second anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood, two things came to mind. In one sense, I felt that my ordination took place only yesterday and in another, it seemed as if I have been a priest my whole life. Hence, the mystery of the priesthood! In a priest’s life, no two days are ever the same.
As we look toward the priestly ordinations on June 1, my thoughts turn toward all those I have ordained to the priesthood since I have been the Bishop of Brooklyn. I have been fortunate to be able to impose hands on 88 men for the service of the faithful of Brooklyn and Queens.
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio will ordain five men to the priesthood for the Diocese of Brooklyn at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, Prospect Heights, on Saturday, June 30 at 11 a.m.
