Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) – On Saturday, May 24, the Prelate of Opus Dei, Bishop Javier Echevarria ordained 36 men from the Prelature in the Basilica of San Eugenio, in Rome. The new priests are from 15 different countries: Argentina, Brasil, Costa Rica, Philippines, France, Guatemala, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Venezuela.
Although the majority of them have spent a long time outside their country, they still have vivid memories of their native homeland. “I am very interested in contributing to the formation of the young people in my country,” said Dominique Hélou, of Lebanon. “Unfortunately, many times they leave the country or they fall into despair. I think that in that region, Christians should be witnesses and I believe that their presence is fundamental for Lebanon’s future.”
Another one of the new priests is Fr. Jose Antonio Brage. At age 18, he entered the Naval Academy in Pontevedra (Spain) and within short time, he had touched base in twenty countries. “That is how I realized that the greatest poverty in the world is the absence of God. To take Christ to others is the greatest good that can be done, and this is the mission of a priest. Many times, my friends and people that know me ask me if I didn’t find it hard to maintain a life of closeness to God, with pious practices such as mental prayer, the Mass, praying the Rosary on days filled with difficulties. It is precisely the opposite. I always say that the best prayers of my life were when I would walk along the deck on high seas...” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 28/5/2008 righe 20, parole 269)
