Rome (Agenzia Fides) - On the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, in several dioceses in mainland China, new "workers in the Lord's Vineyard" were ordained and presented to the communities to which they will be called to exercise their priestly ministry.
On Thursday, February 2, Bishop Joseph Sun Jigen ordained five new priests in the Diocese of Yongnian (now Handan), Hebei Province. The new priests were trained at seminaries in China:
three of them attended Hebei Provincial Seminary, the other two at Shenyang Seminary. More than 130 priests concelebrated the ordination liturgy, presided over by Bishop Sun. The mass was attended by hundreds of seminarians, nuns and lay people.
Also on February 2, Bishop Joseph Huang Bingzhang of the Diocese of Shantou consecrated new priest Chen Jiaying, who was trained at the Beijing Seminary. Due to the measures still in place to combat the pandemic, only 400 priests, seminarians, nuns and lay people were able to attend the ordination liturgy. In his homily, Bishop Huang encouraged the new priest to live his priestly vocation in following Jesus, to face trials with humility and obedience and bravery, and to serve the Lord's Church with joy. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides, 7/2/2023)
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