Another Sydneysider became a priest on Saturday, 24 May with the ordination of Arthur Escamilla in Rome for the Prelature of Opus Dei.
Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, ordained the forty-seven-year-old seminarian who was born in Mexico and studied commerce at the University of NSW and law at the University of Melbourne.
“As the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, said last Sunday, it is to the Good Shepherd that you give your life, and on him you will depend,” said the cardinal in his homily.
“This is the mission he entrusts to you: to be a good shepherd for others in all that you do and to walk alongside them throughout their lives. Only in this way will others follow you.”
Nineteen other men from 11 countries were also ordained in the Basilica of San Eugenio as priests of the Prelature. In a serendipitous coincidence for Fr Escamilla, the ceremony took place on the feast day of Our Lady Help of Christians, the patroness of Australia.
On Sunday, Fr Escamilla celebrated his first Mass in the chapel of Domus Australia, a guest house in Rome opened by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011.
He worked for several years at Blake Dawson (now Ashurst) in both cities. For 12 years he was dean at Warrane College at the University of NSW, a residential college for men.
He is currently working on a doctorate in canon law on the relationship between the church and the state.
Will law be helpful in his work as a priest? “Well,” says Fr Escamilla, “the actual legal background might not help too much, but I acquired skills that will help – to listen attentively, give people time and try to get to understand the bottom of what the people are saying. In giving spiritual direction that will definitely be a useful skill.”
He says working in Warrane was “incredibly satisfying.”
“I lost all my hair in doing so, but it was very rewarding. I lived with more than 600 young men during those 12 years, and I had a lot to do with them. I got to know them very well,” he said.
About 30 former residents from Warrane attended the ordination, making their way to Rome from all over the world.
The two things he is looking forward to most are “spending time in the confessional, giving spiritual direction and confession, and celebrating Mass.”
Is Gen Z a write-off for the church, The Catholic Weekly asked the new priest.
“No, I don’t think so. Some young people are a bit lost, and the challenges that come from the internet and mobile devices haven’t helped, but there are definitely pockets of people who are looking for God,” Fr Escamilla responded.
“Many, many people are looking for interior peace, for a sense of identity. They’re looking to heal wounds they have. We need to let them know that this is something that Our Lord gives us, and this is something the church gives us.”
Fr Escamilla is very optimistic about the growth of the faith in Australia. “At the end of the day, God is the owner of the field. He’s the one who makes things happen. We just need to be faithful to what he’s asking us to do and work with generosity.”