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 Saturday. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
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, Philippines, about a decade ago.
Since then, 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.
Speaking on the day before their ordination, the men spoke about their gratitude to their supporters, and their commitment to be open to however and wherever God calls them to serve.
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.
“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.
Fr Alvarez 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.”
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,” Fr Tiburan said.
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Sydney’s newest priests are on their “Way” (By Marilyn Rodrigues, The Catholic Weekly)
