Last year, Rorate Caeli reported the ordination of two new deacons for the Personal Apostolic Administration of St. John Vianney in Campos dos Goytacazes. This past Sunday (December 18) these two deacons were ordained to the priesthood by their bishop, Msgr. Fernando Arêas Rifan. The website of the Apostolic Administration has a full gallery of photographs from the ceremony, many of which are reproduced on the Subsídios Litúrgicos blog.
In some recent combox discussions, a number of Rorate readers asked about the growth of the P.A.A. If it is any indication, the new priests, Fr. Renan Menezes and Fr. Bruce Júdice, are the first priests to be ordained for the P.A.A. since 2009. All in all, the P.A.A has had 8 new priests in the 7 years beginning with 2005, when Fr. Silvano Salvatte Zanon was ordained. (Rorate dedicated one of its first posts to his ordination.) The photo galleries for the ordinations of these eight priests can be found here.
Considering that the P.A.A. in Campos had 29,512 faithful in 2010 (according to the Annuario Pontificio), its rate of priestly ordinations is actually better than that of most Catholic dioceses in the West. Let us be patient, and let us pray!
Considering that the P.A.A. in Campos had 29,512 faithful in 2010 (according to the Annuario Pontificio), its rate of priestly ordinations is actually better than that of most Catholic dioceses in the West. Let us be patient, and let us pray!
