Diaconum Habemus
By Greg Okumu, SJ
Saturday October 19, 2024 was a remarkable day for the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley. Seven Jesuits were set to be ordained as Deacons and admitted into the rank of Roman Catholic clergy. The West Coast province of the Society of Jesus in the USA hosted this auspicious event at the magnificent state of the art Christ the King Cathedral in Oakland, California. Among the seven candidates for diaconate ordination was Natnael S. Antonio, SJ from the AOR province in Africa. Parents, friends, Jesuits and some JST former and current students were among the many men and women who were in attendance. Worth noting were AOR Jesuits who traveled near and far to be with Natty on this very important day in his life. One message of love and companionship stood out for me by this gesture.
The ordaining bishop, the Most. Rev. Michael C. Barber, SJ , bishop of California encouraged the new deacons to remain in Christ’s love, just as they have been loved. In his charismatic and graceful homily, he reminded the seven men to be open to the pastoral ministries in which they were admitted to serve with great humility and courage, taking after the spirit and zeal of the Jesuit Saints and Martyrs of North America.
As a common tradition among Eastern African Jesuits, no celebration would count as one without sharing in the most celebrated Swahili dishes. And what better way than to commune together at a Swahili restaurant in California. We celebrated the newly ordained Deacon Natnael, SJ in style and shared the sumptuous Swahili meal together as friends in the Lord. This was a great moment for us to reconnect, meet, pray and share our diverse mission experiences with joy and renewed vigor. As witnesses of Christ’s love and service, this was another moment of gratitude to the Divine Majesty for yet another testimony of His unmerited grace: freely given, and freely received. We remain grateful to the JST at Berkeley community for hosting us and their generosity. In particular, a special gratitude goes to Victor Mureithi, and Natty for hosting the AOR delegation led by Fr. Endashaw, Fr. Taban, Fr. Deogratius, Fr. Gasper, Mark Abang’, Fr. Edwin Onyango and Greg Okumu. Hongera Deacon Natty and your companions!
