Vijayawada welcomes four new priests, a "sign and sacrament of God's holiness"
Vijayawada (AsiaNews) – A priest "is called to live a life without deception, forgive the sins of the people, offer the sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist to God and give the sacraments to purify and make holy his fellow humans,” said Mgr Govindu Joji, apostolic administrator of Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh) in his the homily during yesterday’s ordination of four new priests in the diocese.
The ceremony was held in St Paul’s Cathedral. Deacons Chowtapally Prashanth, Eliki Balashowry, Gorremucchu Joseph and Paragati Bernard were ordained priests in the presence of more than a hundred people, including consecrated men and women, religious and faithful.
"The Church of Vijayawada,” the prelate said, “gladly welcomes four new priests, ready to carry out their ministry in a world full of chaos and spiritual darkness."
"The holiness of the priesthood,” he added, “is what enables the Church to be a sign and sacrament of God's holiness, which always purifies people and enables them to share in the divine life."
During the traditional act of prostration – with the deacons lying on the floor in a sign of humility and total surrender of one's life to God – the congregation chanted the litany of the saints.
Established as the missio sui iuris of Bezwada on 10 January 1933 by the Diocese of Hyderabad, the mission became a diocese in its own right in 1937. The current name dates to 1950.
Today, the Diocese of Vijayawada is home to more than 5 million people, 5.5 per cent of whom are Catholic served by 150 diocesan and 60 religious priests.
With the division of Andhra Pradesh and the creation of the new state of Telangana (2014), the city of Vijayawada became the new capital of Andhra Pradesh.
*Missionary of the Immaculate Conception, female congregation associated with the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME)
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