Opus Dei: 29 priests are ordained in Rome, of them 6 Mexican and 5 Spanish

On Saturday, May 25, 29 Opus Dei deacons were ordained priests in the Basilica of Saint Eugene in Rome, in a Mass presided over by Bishop Paul Toshihiro Sakai, auxiliary bishop of Osaka-Takamatsu (Japan).

According to the Office of Communication of Opus Dei, in the group there are priests from 19 countries on the 5 continents: 9 are from America; among them 6 Mexicans; 11 from Europe, of which 5 are Spanish; 4 are from Africa; 4 are from Asia, including a Chinese; and one is from Oceania.

In the basilica, packed with family and friends of the new priests, the bishop explained that the priest is someone who lives for others: “Starting tomorrow, you will begin the path of becoming not what you want to be, but what you want to be. those around you want you to be,” he said.

The prelate also highlighted that the priest must be a witness of Jesus and a good shepherd like Him, as well as a “good sheep” who listens to the Lord and follows Him.

A special gift for the 29 new priests of Opus Dei

Before the ordination Mass, the Japanese bishop gave all the ordinands an origami or origami donkey, made of paper, a figure that he himself made during his trip to Rome.

The donkey, the bishop commented in the homily, is like the sheep and “also hears its master’s voice with its big ears.”

Bishop Sakai recalled that, in his personal notes, Saint Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei, the saint wrote: “I am your donkey, Jesus… And from your donkey, Child God, do whatever you want (…) I want be your patient, hard-working, faithful donkey.”

The prelate also referred to a Japanese proverb “The more a grain of rice grows, the more it bends,” which means that “the more experience you acquire as a priest from now on, the more important it is that you become more humble. If you are humble, you will bear more fruit.”

In his words to those attending the ordination, Mons. Fernando Ocáriz, Prelate of Opus Dei, commented: “today you have experienced the closeness of God in a special way. The priesthood is a great gift for you and for the entire Church, and it encourages us to put into practice what Saint Josemaría recommended to us: to live in continuous gratitude to God.”

The testimony of some of the new priests of Opus Dei

Father Wai Leung Ng was born in Hong Kong in 1989, 35 years ago. Billy, as the new Chinese priest is affectionately known, studied English literature and pedagogy. He was a teacher at a school where he taught English, ethics and religion, where he first learned about the faith and was baptized at the age of 17.

He is doing his thesis on “The compatibility between the concepts of natural law in Confucianism and Christianity” because in his “land there is a need for a lot of apostolate of friendship with people from other religious traditions.” “I ask for your prayers so that this is carried out and that I do my part well as a priest in this project,” he adds.

Father Alberto Hikaru Shintani is a native of São Paulo (Brazil). He is the fifth of seven siblings and his family is originally from Japan, a country to which he returned to study Japanese History. He worked as a researcher at the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

“Although the average young person in Japan has never had contact with the transcendental, you realize that what they are looking for in the end is common: a meaning for their existence, a love for their life, a reason to get up every morning,” he commented.

“I think that the figure of the priest can remind us that the answer to all these longings already exists, he has a name and he has a face, Christ; and that, furthermore, He takes the initiative to look for us,” he highlights.

The job of the Catholic priest is like that of the doctor

Father Jaime Hernández was born in Mexico and specialized in cardiology in Spain, later treating people who suffer from arrhythmia.

“I see my work as a priest in continuity with my vocation as a doctor. Jesus was also a doctor, almost all of his first miracles were healings,” he comments.

“Many times my work as a priest will also be healing, with the grace of the Lord through the sacraments, listening, accompanying and giving affection. It fills me with excitement to be able to help renew people’s hearts so that they beat at the same rhythm as the heart of Christ. This is the deepest desire of each person and what gives meaning to the human being,” adds Father Hernández.

Father Marcial Núñez is from Paraguay. Before becoming a priest he studied electromechanical engineering at the National University of Asunción and specialized in electronics.

“The call to the priesthood is a gift. We are all called by God to bear fruit wherever we are, each one according to his path. He called me to do it as a priest, with the help and prayer of all of you,” he stressed.

Fr Chinwike Asolibe is Nigerian. The priest affirms that his great wish is “that the seed of the good news planted by missionaries in West Africa during the last 150 years takes root in the lives of so many people in Nigeria, so that they may be true bearers of the Gospel.”