31 July 2015
Your news from across the Archdiocese of Perth
Edition #42
Perth set to ordain eight to the priesthood By Jamie O’Brien and Marco Ceccarelli THE ARCHDIOCESE is this weekend set to celebrate a landmark event with the ordination of eight Deacons to the Priesthood. Archbishop Timothy Costelloe will celebrate the ordinations on Saturday, 1 August at St Mary’s Cathedral at 10am in the presence of an expected 1,000 people, maximising the capacity of the Cathedral and bringing the number of ordinations for Perth in 2015 to 12. Deacons Simeon San, Garner Vergara Jr., Stephen Gorddard, Jeffey Casabuena, Israel Quirit and Grant Gorddard have all studied at St Charles’ Seminary, Guildford, and UNDA and are originally from Australia, the Philippines and Myanmar, while Deacons Conor Steadman, also from Perth and Patrick Toohey, who is originally from Sydney, have also both been studying in Rome for the past year. In an interview with the eRecord speaking about their vocations, each of the men spoke about a strong desire to serve the Christian community that God will entrust them with. Their experiences, they said, conveyed a distinct sense of faithfulness and commitment to their ministry as they framed their transition into the diaconate as a sign of their devotion to the Church, the people of God and, more 1 | EDITION #42 | 31 JULY 2015
importantly, to Jesus Christ. The intimacy with Christ, they said, had sustained their openness to their vocation. Reflecting on the significance of having reached this significant milestone in his life, Deacon Patrick commented on the importance of bringing wisdom to and fostering adult faith in today’s Church. “My ordination to the priesthood is the culmination of my life and simultaneous fulfilment of it. “It is a chance for me to
exercise my gifts and to make a contribution through the graces of the Holy Spirit to the building of the kingdom,” Deacon Patrick said. Born in New Zealand, Deacon Conor Steadman obtained a degree in dentistry from the University of Western Australia before entering St Charles’ Seminary in 2008. “In thinking about the priesthood I am often reminded of the words of St Josemaria Escriva which I make my own Before God,
I’m like a little donkey, pulling the cart. That has been the job I have dedicated myself to. My job is serving God, and, in God’s service, serving all souls without distinction.” “For me, this is quite simply the mission, the vocation, of the priest to talk about God, to repeat the teachings of Christ the Lord and to administer the sacraments with great love,” Deacon Conor said. Full Text available at
www.therecord.com.au