ASIA/INDONESIA - The fourth Camillian priest and 17 Divine Word missionaries have been ordained in Flores

Maumere (Agenzia Fides) – On Sunday, September 25, at the Theological Seminary of the Divine Word in Maumere, on the island of Flores, the Bishop Emeritus Mgr.Anton Pain Ratu, DWS, ordained the fourth Camillian priest and 17 DWS missionaries. The celebration, which lasted about five hours, was concelebrated by 90 priests and there was a particularly touching moment when the new priests blessed their parents.
According to information sent to Fides by Fr. Luigi Galvani, MI, the new Camillian priest is one of the youngest who was sent to the Philippines, ten years ago, and completed his religious and theological formation at the Camillian theological seminary in Manila. With his other three companions, ordained in the last two years, he is now the "new force" of the Camillian mission which recently opened a seminar on the island of Flores (see Fides 19/10/2009, 18/10/2010).
Fr. Ignasius belongs to a large family and comes from the mountainous region of Manggarai in Flores, an island that has given and continues to give numerous religious and priesthood vocations to many religious institutions and various dioceses. He will carry out his pastoral work as a teacher at the Camillian seminar of Maumere, Flores, whose community is currently composed of 21 young candidates eager to follow the charism of St. Camillus and to extend it in the future to other islands (17 thousand) of this great Asian archipelago.
Father Galvani recalls that the Camillians are the 35th religious institute which arrived in the Diocese of Maumere. Their presence was well received by the local Church that feels enriched by a new charism: that of serving the sick and pastoral care. With the presence of four local priests and the large group of seminarians, the new mission is now the delegation of the Philippine Camillian Province, in view of its vocational vitality and the will to contribute to the expansion of the Order in Asia and other countries in the world. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 28/09/2011)