The church in Sydney has been blessed with two new priests after Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP ordained Luis Alejandro Giraldo Alvarez and Nonie Tiburan at St Mary’s Cathedral on 30 November.
The missionaries, members of the Neocatechumenal Way, were sent to Sydney to discern their vocations after they each heard God’s call during a vocations meeting in Manila around a decade ago.
Since that time Fr Alvarez, who hails from Colombia and Fr Tiburan, who is from the Philippines, have journeyed years of seminary formation together bound by their shared desire to answer a call to be friends and apostles of Christ as priests.
Held on the feast of St Andrew the apostle in the presence of their families, friends, communities, parishioners, and rectors and staff of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary and Good Shepherd Seminary, the solemn yet joy-filled Mass was also livestreamed for many who could not attend in person.
Speaking to The Catholic Weekly the day before the event, the men shared their hearts full of gratitude for their supporters so far, and their commitment to be open to however and wherever God calls them to serve.
“As cliché as it may sound, for me the journey so far has been a rollercoaster— exhilarating, fun, dangerous, but at the same time fantastic, it’s really a blessing from God,” Fr Tiburan said.
“I’m overwhelmed by the fact that we have our families with us as we come to our ordinations to the priesthood. It means crazy logistics but it’s beautiful.
“My entire family came out here to be with me, but not my Mum and my Dad, because they are both in heaven.
“All my siblings are here, my uncles and aunties, and my cousins—16 in total.”
Fr Tiburan said he knew his parents were with him in spirit.
“My father was diagnosed with cancer when I joined the seminary and I wanted to stay with him, but he encouraged me to return to my studies and go on without him,” he explained.
“That was very difficult but turned out to be very beautiful.”
Fr Alvarez, whose mother and four siblings were in attendance to witness his ordination, admitted to last-minute nerves that settled into peace as the longed-for day arrived.
“The time has passed very quickly. I’ve been here for 11 years but it seems like yesterday that I came to Australia,” he said.
“I’ve been blessed to have all these people behind us, in my community. They have supported us for the journey.”
For two-and-half hours St Mary’s Cathedral was filled with voices raised in prayer and song, happy tears and smiles.
In his homily Archbishop Fisher spoke words of comfort to the ordinands who had both lost their fathers “too young.”
“You know well humanity’s hunger for true paternity,” he told them.
“From this day forward, you will be called ‘Father’ by those entrusted to your care. You will announce good tidings to them when afflicted, healing if broken-hearted, liberty when captive to vice and addiction, comfort if (like you) they have known mourning (Isaiah 61:1-3).
“You now call Australia home, but the whole world is your mission field. You are the ones sent so that people may hear and believe (Romans 10:9-18).
“You will offer the paternal care of the sacraments, transforming pagans into children of God in holy baptism, bread and wine into the Christ’s Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist, sinners into saints in holy penance, man and woman into spouses in holy matrimony, the sick, dying and dead into immortals though holy anointing and the church’s rites.
“For all this, and for both you, dear Nonie and Alejandro, we give thanks to God!”
Among those present were also Bishops Richard Umbers and Daniel Meagher, rector of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary Fr Eric Skruzny and rector of the Good Shepherd Seminary Fr Michael de Stoop, and the Responsible Neocatechumenal Team for Australia Toto and Rita Piccolo, Fr Tony Trafford and Ignacio Manzanares Romero.
The archdiocesan director of vocations, Fr Danielle Russo and representatives of the University of Notre Dame Australia and the Catholic Institute of Sydney were also on hand to witness the men’s total dedication to Christ and his church through priestly ministry.
In a thanksgiving message on behalf of himself and Fr Alvarez, Fr Tiburan expressed heartfelt gratitude to their families, respective Neocatechumenal communities, catechists and other supporters.
“I don’t want to be emotional, but our hearts are full of gratitude and thanksgiving and praising the Lord for everything that he’s done,” he laughed as tears began to well in his eyes.
“We hope and pray that we can truly be the next apostle Andrew. That we can be disposed 100 per cent to the will of God.
“Please pray for us that we can be these apostles, that we can dedicate our lives for the sake of God, of Jesus Christ and of the church.”
The Neocatechumenal Way founded the first Redemptoris Mater Missionary Seminary in Rome in 1987 and now there are 120 worldwide including in Chester Hill in western Sydney.
Its communities are focused on life-long catechesis with Scripture, prayer and praise and vibrant liturgies.
“We love our music and liturgy. There is a great emphasis on beauty,” said Fr Tiburan.
