Three Jesuits Ordained Deacons

Bishop Bernard Longley, Auxiliary in Westminster, ordained three deacons in the Society of Jesus on Saturday, 21 April, at Farm Street Church.

Colombian John Montoya and Steve Kieta from the Oregon Province (USA) are both studying at Heythrop College in London, while Luis Felipe Navarette, also from Colombia, is at Campion Hall in Oxford.

In introducing the three candidates, the British Provincial, Father Michael Holman SJ, reflected on the road that had led them to the diaconate.  Steve had served his novitiate in Portland, Oregon, had taught and worked as a chaplain, at a high school in Tacoma, Washington, and worked with gang members in Chicago, Illinois.  Luis Filipe was born in Bogota, Colombia, and educated by the Jesuits at San Bartolome College.  He says his parents were a deep Christian influence upon his early life, regularly cooking and taking food to a group of homeless people who lived in a difficult area in the Colombian capital.  While John, who had come to London in 2004, and is in the final stages of his BD course at Heythrop College, had put his interests and qualifications to good use as a Jesuit: he is qualified as a solicitor and has served as a judge, judging - he says - 'small cases in a very peaceful and quiet village in Colombia' before entering the Society of Jesus 11 years ago.

In his address during the Ordination Mass, Bishop Longley warmly welcomed the new deacons, saying how important it was to reflect on how they had reached this point, and looking ahead to their future ministries within the Society of Jesus.

This September, Matsepane Morare will be ordained priest and Rampe Hlobo will be ordained deacon for the British Province at St Martin de Porres Church in Orlando West, South Africa.