(ZENIT News / Los Angeles, 30.06.2024).- The Archdioceses of Washington, DC; St. Paul-Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Milwaukee had a high number of new priests, something not seen in decades. These Ordinations mark a profound growth of the Catholic Church in the United States.
On June 15, the Archdiocese of Washington, DC, celebrated the Ordination of 16 new priests. Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory ordained the largest number of priests since 1960. After 64 years, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception witnessed a happy progress for the Church’s service.
The ages of the new priests oscillated between 25 and 64 years, including a survivor of the Rwandan genocide, a former emergencies doctor and military veterans. Cardinal Gregory highlighted the increase of priestly vocations, the support of family members and friends in their dedication to God and urged the new priests to reinforce their priesthood with prayer and the Sacraments.
In his homily, the Cardinal also highlighted the importance of unconditional love, proposing to the new priests that they dedicate “their lives in imitation of the One who gave His life for us.”
There were 13 Ordinations in the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis, in a ceremony attended by 3,500 people, where Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda explained the varied antecedents of the new priests: candidates from a marketing career, from the Air Force and from social work. He pointed out that their abilities and experience will help them in the service of the souls entrusted to them.
The growth of vocations in the United States is striking: Archbishop José H. Gómez of Los Angeles ordained 11 new priests. They received the priestly order in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. The Archbishop urged them to live love intensely in the priesthood, recalling Saint John Vianney’s words: “The priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus.”
The nine priests ordained in Milwaukee received priestly consecration in the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist. Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki reminded them of the priest’s role in the creation and formation of communities through the Sacraments and charity, encouraging them to “serve Jesus Christ faithfully in His Church.”
This significant increase in Ordinations opens a hopeful future for the Catholic Church in the United States, in the context of a new generational change in the Church.
