NZ Catholic Newspaper

Five respond to God’s call this year

Rowena Orejana — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 23:33:48 +0000

by ROWENA OREJANA
Holy Cross Seminary’s new director of formation, Fr Michael Gielen, called on young men to
listen to the voice in the back of their minds calling them to priesthood.

Seminarians from left to right: Isaac Fransen, Ronnie Angelo Dungo, Cirilo Barlis, Jovanie Leones and Romano Tikotikoca.

“If there is a voice in their life, in the back of their minds that they are ignoring or they are refusing to listen to, they are missing out on what could be a wonderful life. Priesthood for me has been the richest life I could imagine,” he said.
“It has been very, very fulfilling and enjoyable. Have the courage to discern that voice.”
This year, five men have responded to God’s call. Three are Filipino seminarians of Wellington archdiocese, one is homegrown from Hamilton diocese, and the fifth a Fijian from Auckland diocese.
Isaac Fransen, 23, comes from Hamilton diocese. The youngest of the group, he knew Fr Gielen, who was running a pre-seminary programme before he went to Rome for study.
“I guess the bigger question is why God chose me. I don’t know. He chose me and so I believe
I’m following what he called me to do,” he said.
He had just finished his mechanical engineering degree at the University of Waikato.
“The time felt correct to move on to the seminary rather than go to the workplace. I’ve sort
of been thinking about it for four and half years now,” he said.
He described his calling as “peaceful”.
“I guess, through discernment, a peaceful calling kind of came through. So here I am. To
me, it seemed very natural to become a priest,” he said.
Ronnie Angelo Dungo, 40, is one of three Filipino priests who applied and were accepted by
Wellington archdiocese.
“I’ve always wanted to be a priest, but I never had the chance to enter minor seminary. I started my formation with the Jesuits when I was 30. So my vocation came a bit late,” he said.
He had to leave the seminary when his father died to settle his family’s affairs. Still, the call was there.
“There were certain times when I dodged it. I thought it wasn’t for me. But no matter how one dodges it or evades it, it will find you. So, I just gave in. Life becomes more beautiful when you embrace it,” he said.
“I guess, what attracted me to priesthood is the phrase I’d been reflecting on: “Sinners, yet called.” And that’s what I want to be: a channel of God’s grace and mercy,” he added.
Cirilo Barlis, 30, also from the Philippines, came to New Zealand to be a priest for Wellington archdiocese after a priest friend told him of the opportunity.
Having friends encourage him to be a priest seemed the way Mr Barlis discerned his vocation. “When I was in college, I have this priest friend who encouraged me to take the exam in
the seminary. Initially, I was attracted because of the seminary’s sports facilities. But as the seminary formation went on, I finally realised what it was to become a priest,” he said. “And my relationship with God grew.”
There was no mysterious voice calling him, nor apparitions. “The people around me felt that I had a vocation. They sensed that I had a vocation to priesthood. That’s where I discovered
my vocation,” he said.
Jovanie Leones, 25, is also from Wellington archdiocese. He spent five years in a minor
seminary in the Philippines.
“Initially I was inspired by a missionary priest to do mission work and to become a priest,”
he said.
After graduation from the minor seminary, he decided to work in a bank. “But the vocation
was still there. I had this void inside me and I wanted really to go back and continue what I had started a few years ago,” he said. A cousin in Wellington who is already a priest invited him to consider New Zealand.
“That is how I knew the vocations director in Wellington,” he said.
Mr Leones said that as a child in primary school, he was already attracted to priesthood. “I served as an altar server in our parish in Bohol,” he said.
Romano Tikotikoca, 34, is from Fiji and studying to be a priest for Auckland diocese.
“I was here for holidays back in 2013. Because I was in the seminary in Fiji. I came here
on holidays and I stayed with the Fijian chaplain for seven months,” he said.
Mr Tikotikoca said it was then he felt a longing to continue on the path to priesthood. “I
contacted the bishop and stated my intentions. I’m grateful that he was willing to take me on board,” he said.
He recalled experiencing a certain kind of peace during one Feast of the Assumption Mass in Fiji which made him realise that he is being called to a vocation.
“I had this peaceful [feeling]… probably a state of grace, it was just peaceful. I had the
same experience when I was here. I thought that burning desire will die out, but it never did,” he said.

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Ten new seminarians at Holy Cross in 2012

Michael Otto — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 05:10:53 +0000

by MICHAEL OTTO
AUCKLAND — Five New Zealand dioceses have seminarians starting at Holy Cross Seminary in Ponsonby in 2012.
The diverse group of 10 new seminarians features Kiwis, an American and men from the Philippines.
Michael Walker, 31, from Holy Name parish, Dunedin North, was a support worker in the health sector, working mainly in the mental health field, before entering the seminary.
Although many factors have influenced him on his faith journey, a trip to Europe, and especially the Vatican with his brother in 2007, saw him return with a sense of wanting to serve God and others in the community.
A graduate of the University of Otago with a Bachelor of Communication Studies and a post-graduate diploma in public health, Mr Walker hopes his seminary experience will help him grow in faith and hope in God, to prepare him to serve the people of Dunedin diocese.
Anthony Trenwith, 32, from St Michael’s parish, Remuera, Auckland, worked as a lawyer for several years in both New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
A graduate of the University of Auckland and a barrister, Mr Trenwith’s years in the UK saw him work for the British equivalent of our Inland Revenue Department.
A growing desire to do more with his life and to serve God through helping people attracted him to the idea of a vocation.
Mr Trenwith hopes to grow as part of a community of brothers in the seminary and to keep journeying towards whatever God wants of him and to serve his people in whatever way he can.
Glen Brennan, 22, from St Thomas More Parish, Mt Maunganui and St Patrick’s, Te Puke, worked on dairy farms and orchards in the Bay of Plenty before coming to Holy Cross.
Falling in love with Eucharist and the Catholic Church saw Mr Brennan attracted to the idea of priesthood.
He hopes his time in the seminary will see him learn how to be a father and “physician of souls”.
Mark Bond, 22, from the cathedral parish in Auckland has finished a degree in English and psychology at the University of Auckland.
Asked about what attracted him to the idea of a vocation, Mr Bond referred to Psalm 19:14: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my Lord.”
He linked his own happiness to having his works and thoughts being acceptable to God and his glory. God led him on this journey through various studies, and none of them were satisfying, he said.
He hopes that he will grow in love and have a good sense of community with fellow seminarians and reach out and be Christ to others.
Before coming to the seminary, Tony King-Archer, 30, worked as an accountant.
From St Patrick’s cathedral parish in Auckland, Mr King-Archer said thoughts of a vocation were first triggered by a homily he heard in Northcote parish many years ago.
At the seminary, he hopes to grow in faith and knowledge, fulfilling his vocation potential with an ultimate ideal of conforming himself to the image of Christ the priest.
A later vocation, John Hill from St Michael’s parish, Remuera, Auckland, is a widower after his wife of 30 years, Dianne, died two years ago.
Working in real estate and tourism, and running his own company for a time, Mr Hill had trained for a religious order, the Passionists, as a young man.
Describing the time after his wife’s death as a “wilderness experience”, Mr Hill coped by making his prayers centre on gratitude. He realised he still had a journey ahead of him, and wondered what that was meant to be. Very good spiritual direction and support from his parish priest helped him towards the move to a priestly vocation.
This is a new path he is following and he is open to what it leads to, he said, describing the journey ahead as an “adventure”.
Bryan Buenger, 53, from Phoenix, Arizona, in the United States of America, felt called to priesthood while praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament in Queenstown during a visit in 2009. He had just walked the Milford Track. This was his fourth holiday in New Zealand.
The Phoenix diocese will not accept new seminarians over the age of 40, so, after discussions with the vocations director there, he wrote to several New Zealand dioceses. After speaking with Bishop Charles Drennan of Palmerston North, Mr Buenger felt attracted to serving there.
A former English teacher, Mr Buenger visited a marae soon after arriving in New Zealand in early February, an experience he described as “wonderful”. Mr Buenger had studied Maori art at university in the United States.
He hopes his time in the seminary will see him learn more of New Zealand’s culture and help him adapt to it.
Three students from the Philippines have all undertaken seminary studies before in their previous homeland before moving to New Zealand.
Nathaniel Brazil, 25, and Ferdinand Miranda, 34, both spent several years in formation at Immaculate Conception Major Seminary in the Philippines before coming to New Zealand last year.
Both spent several months in parishes in Palmerston North diocese last year.
Mr Brazil and Mr Miranda are looking forward to learning more about New Zealand culture and the local Church during their time in the seminary.
Hearing about the possibility of evangelisation in New Zealand sparked Mr Miranda’s interest in serving in the country.
Mr Brazil is looking forward to being a help to the Church in Palmerston North.
Dennis Nacorda, 33, also undertook seminary studies for the Missionary Society of the Philippines before coming to New Zealand.
Before entering the seminary, Mr Nacorda worked as a veterinarian in his former country. Now a student for the Wellington archdiocese, he arrived in New Zealand last year and resided at St Mary’s Parish, Blenheim.
He is looking forward to learning more about life as a diocesan priest during his seminary training.
The 10 new seminarians bring the total number of seminarians at Holy Cross Seminary to 27 with another two being on pastoral years in Auckland’s Glenfield parish and Wellington’s Island Bay parish.

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