The feast of St. Alphonsus de Liguori, our founding Father, has always been an important moment for the church and, of course, for us as Redemptorists. In 2023, Indonesian Redemptorists and the faithful on the island of Sumba celebrate the occasion with the ordination of four deacons to become priests. August 1st also marks 66 years of redemptorist presence in Indonesia. The first redemptorist missionaries arrived from Cologne, Germany, in the port of Waingapu in 1957.
Those ordained that day were Fr. Immanuel Theodorus Bulu CSsR, P. Aprianus Yohanes Maya CSsR, P. Clementius Anselmus Loba CSsR and P. John Richard Lessoe CSsR. They were ordained by His Holiness Bishop Edmund Woga CSsR at the Waingapu Redeemer parish in Wara.
Confreres, families and friends of the redemptorist from various parts of Indonesia and abroad attended the ordination celebration.
During his homily, Mgr. Edmund advised the newly ordained that “the priesthood is a ministry. The priesthood is not a livelihood. Therefore, serve the people with meekness and humility”.
Addressing the gathering, the bishop invited the faithful to pray for the priests and create an atmosphere in the family so that it would become an early “seminary” for the growth of the seeds of vocation to religious life.”
“Don’t just pray for the priest, but also give your children to be like those who are just ordained,” he said.
The celebration of the feast of our founding Father and the priestly ordination was enlivened by various attractions and an exhibition of photographs of the journeys and works of our early missionaries.
The entire series of festivities ends with Gaudeamus and community dancing with all the parishioners and guests.
May the abundance of redemption always be ours.
Fr. Willy Ng Pala CSSR
